By Dan Knutson
indianapolismotorspeedway.com
Thursday, December 4, 2003
West McLaren-Mercedes is the first team to unveil its 2004 F1 car, as the MP4-19 has undergone its first track tests in Spain just seven weeks after the final round of the 2003 world championship.
Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard will race the car in next year’s Formula One World Championship that includes the United States Grand Prix on June 20 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Raikkonen, Coulthard and test drivers Alexander Wurz and Pedro de la Rosa have started an intense testing program to develop the new car.
“Initially the MP4-19 feels good,” said Coulthard, who already broke the lap record at Spain’s Valencia circuit in the new car. “It seems to have great potential, and it’s a further step in comparison to the MP4-17D.”
Introducing the new car this early will pay off, said Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren Racing managing director.
“This timeframe will allow us to fully maximize our preseason test and development program,” he said, “and therefore help to meet our aim of arriving at the 2004 Australian Grand Prix with a technical package that is capable of sustaining a consistent challenge for both World Championships. This is of particular importance given the current points system.”
The new points system introduced in 2003 rewards consistent point scoring at every race.
McLaren campaigned the 2003 season with the MP4-17D, a heavily modified version of its 2002 car. The 2003 MP4-18 was tested but never raced. The 2004 MP4-19 is an evolution of the MP4-18.
“Although MP4-19 incorporates significant carryover from MP4-18, and the findings gathered from its development program in 2003, we have also had to take into consideration new technical regulations, which have led to some additional change alongside this progression,” said McLaren Technical Director Adrian Newey.
There are very few teams that take an identical car from one race to the next because the car is constantly being developed, Whitmarsh said.
“During testing and racing, we learn where we are vulnerable and where we have to change the car,” Whitmarsh said. “The car is continually evolving. In reality, the MP4-17D which started the 2003 season embodied a variety of development ideas and concepts which were the product of the MP4-18 development. During the year, MP4-17D underwent further developments. Now the new MP4-19 car benefits from that work.”
Some of the most significant changes in the new car involve the engine. The new rules limit each driver to one engine during the course of a Grand Prix weekend. An engine change will result in the driver being moved back 10 places on the starting grid, so reliability is more crucial than ever.
Mercedes-Benz has developed an all-new V10 engine code-named the FO 110Q. It’s more compact and has a lower center of gravity than the 2003 engine.
“One might assume the business of changing an engine becomes less of an issue as you now cannot change an engine without significant penalty,” Whitmarsh said. “Interestingly, however, there has been a big effort on the speed of changing an engine on the MP4-19.
“You might question why would you put effort into enhancing engine change time, when any engine change is penalized. Well, the only thing that, prior to qualifying on Saturday, has to be consistent is the engine. Therefore if you have a problem with another part of the car and the driver jumps into the spare car, that constitutes an engine change, unless he jumps into a spare car which didn’t have an engine.
“In other words, take the engine out of the race car and place it in the spare car prior to parc fermé on Saturday and, if you can do that quickly, you avoid the penalty.”
The designers also scrutinized the size of the fuel tank because in 2004, as in 2003, drivers qualify with enough fuel on board to start the race.
“We have looked at the size of the fuel cell,” Whitmarsh said. “An analysis of 2003 races shows there were no one-stops and more two- and three-stops than in 2002. In the past, the fuel tank had to have the capacity to let you run non-stop to at least half a race distance. This is no longer the case.
“I’m sure everyone has done their homework for the 2004 season, building fuel tanks just big enough to run to wherever you think you need to. As soon as you decide to remove 20 liters (5 gallons) of tank capacity, you then look at building a car with a shorter wheelbase, optimizing cooling by making the tank area narrower or making the car lower to reduce the height of its center of gravity. In short, it presents a performance opportunity.”
Visible changes to the MP4-19 include a rear wing restricted to just two horizontal elements and an increased engine cover size. Both are required by rule changes. The car also now features a top-exit exhaust. The front end of the car is similar to the MP4-18.
McLaren and Mercedes worked closely with all the team’s technical partners, including Exxon/Mobil and Michelin.
“We have a technical team working with Michelin, and it is a two-way development process in that the chassis places certain demands on the tire and vice versa,” Whitmarsh said. “In simple terms, we want more grip, and they want more downforce to achieve that grip.
“Within our development of suspension systems, we will be asking for certain characteristics from the tire, in terms of its spring and damping. On the other hand, Michelin will be requesting our suspension engineers to use the tire tread in a particular way, minimizing camber change for instance. That process is a continuous one, so the tires and chassis evolve together.”
The new McLaren-Mercedes MP4-19 will make its race debut in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 7.
USGP tickets: Tickets for the 2004 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis on June 20 are on sale, and the IMS ticket office encourages customers to place orders early to ensure the best possible opportunity to acquire good seats.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com or by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.
