McLaren MP4-30

McLaren MP4-30

A McLaren MP4-30 driven by Jenson Button at the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Category	Formula One
Constructor	McLaren
Designer(s)	Tim Goss (Technical Director) Neil Oatley (Director of Design and Development Programs) Matt Morris (Engineering Director) Peter Prodromou (Chief Engineer)
Predecessor	McLaren MP4-29
Technical specifications[1][2]
Chassis	Carbon-fibre composite incorporating driver cockpit controls and fuel cell
Suspension (front)	Carbon-fibre wishbone and pushrod suspension elements operating inboard torsion bar and damper system
Suspension (rear)	Carbon-fibre wishbone and pushrod suspension elements operating inboard torsion bar and damper system
Engine	Honda RA615H Hybrid 1.6 L (98 cu in) direct injection V6 engine (90°), limited to 15,000 rpm with turbocharger featuring a single-stage compressor in a mid-mounted, rear-wheel drive layout
Electric motor	Kinetic energy recovery system delivering 2 MJ of energy directly to crankshaft and thermal energy recovery system delivering 2 MJ of energy to turbine[N 1]
Transmission	McLaren Racing gearbox with eight forward and one reverse gears, hand-operated by seamless-shift pedal and epicyclic differential with multi-plate limited-slip clutch
Battery	Honda litium-ion batteries, holding 4 MJ of energy
Weight	702 kg (1,547.6 lb) (with driver)
Fuel	ExxonMobil/Esso High Performance Unleaded (5.75% bio fuel) Mobil Synergy Fuel System Mobil 1 lubrication
Tyres	Pirelli P Zero (dry) tyres Pirelli Cinturato (wet) tyres Enkei 15-inch alloy racing wheels
Competition history
Notable entrants	McLaren Honda
Notable drivers	14. Fernando Alonso 20.   Kevin Magnussen 22. Jenson Button
Debut	2015 Australian Grand Prix
Races Wins Podiums Poles F.Laps 4 0 0 0 0

The McLaren MP4-30 is a Formula One racing car designed by Tim Goss, Neil Oatley, Matt Morris and Peter Prodromou for McLaren to compete in the 2015 Formula One season.^[3][4][5] The car has been driven by 2005 and 2006 World Champion Fernando Alonso, who returned to McLaren seven years after he last drove for the team;^[6] 2009 World Champion Jenson Button;^[6] and 2014 season and current reserve driver Kevin Magnussen, who temporarily stood in for Alonso after a testing accident.^[7] The car will be the first since the McLaren MP4/7A—which contested the 1992 season—to be powered by a Honda engine, known as the RA615H Hybrid,^[8] after McLaren ended their twenty-year partnership with Mercedes at the end of the 2014 season.^[9][10]

The car was nicknamed the "size zero Formula One car" by the team for its distinct sharply tapered rear end,^[11] which was achieved by designing the Honda engine to operate at higher temperatures than other engines.

Development

The McLaren MP4/7A, which contested the 1992 season, was the last car built by McLaren that used a Honda engine, the 3.5 L (214 cu in) V12 Honda RA122-E

Design team

Having developed the McLaren MP4-29 in 2014, Tim Goss, Neil Oatley and Matt Morris remained with the team to design the MP4-30.^[4]

Peter Prodromou, who previously worked for McLaren between 1991 and 2006, was recruited back to the team from Red Bull Racing—where he had served as the team's Head of Aerodynamics—to aid in designing the MP4-30.^[3]

Early development

Honda had previously competed in Formula One as a constructor when they purchased British American Racing in 2006 before selling the team to Brawn GP ahead of the 2009 season. With the sport introducing a brand-new engine formula in 2014 and engine supplier Mercedes establishing their own team, McLaren sought a new engine supplier with a view to a long-term relationship.^[10] The partnership with Honda was first announced in May 2013, and the RA615H engine spent the next eighteen months in development.^[10] The team used Mercedes' PU106A Hybrid engine in the McLaren MP4-29 throughout the 2014 season.^[12]

Development of the McLaren MP4-30 started with the McLaren MP4-29H/1X1, a variation of the MP4-29 that was developed to test the new engine. The car made appearances at test sessions at the Silverstone and Yas Marina Circuits, where it was driven by McLaren's testing and development driver Stoffel Vandoorne.^[13] The testing programme of the MP4-29H/1X1 was limited by technical problems with the engine that prevented significant running and the chassis was shelved following its appearance at Yas Marina, with the team carrying the engine over to the MP4-30 chassis ahead of the first pre-season test of the 2015 season at Jerez de la Frontera.^[14] The car was the first of the 2015 entries to pass its mandatory crash tests, getting final approval from the FIA in December 2014.^[5]

Pre-season testing

The MP4-30 made its début at the first pre-season test at the Circuito de Jerez. The car endured a difficult start, with the RA615H engine suffering from a series of recurring mechanical faults that restricted the team's running over the four days,^[11] and they completed the test having completed the least amount of mileage among those present. The issues that had plagued the car were not resolved in time for the second test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, prompting McLaren to replace some parts supplied by Honda with parts that they had developed independently in 2014. The team finally managed to get some substantial running in during the final test in Barcelona; after completing just seven laps on the first day, Jenson Button was able to complete over one hundred on the second.^[15] However, with two weeks until the opening race, the longest stint of continuous running that the MP4-30 had completed was twelve laps of the Barcelona circuit,^[16] some 55.8 km (34.7 mi) compared to a full Grand Prix distance—sixty-six laps—of 307.1 km (190.8 mi).^{[N 2]}

Testing accident

The team's pre-season preparations were overshadowed by an accident involving Fernando Alonso on the final day that saw the two-time World Champion hospitalised with a concussion and ruled out of the third and final test.^[17] Test and reserve driver Kevin Magnussen was drafted in as his replacement for the remainder of the test and the opening round of the season. Alonso later attributed the accident to a steering failure, dismissing speculation that he had been shocked by the car's ERS system, had an improper crash structure fitted in the car, or had lost control after being caught in a powerful crosswind, before adding that he felt it unlikely that the ultimate cause of the accident would ever be determined.^[18] He further disputed reports that he had been concussed in the accident.^[19] Alonso's analysis of the crash was not shared by McLaren, who maintained that there was no evidence of a car failure in the telemetry data following the accident, but conceded that an undiagnosed fault was a possible explanation, equipping Alonso's car with additional sensors upon his return to the team.^[19]

In-season development

With each engine manufacturer on the 2015 grid being granted some limited scope to develop their engines, McLaren and Honda were given some leeway to develop the RA615H Hybrid power unit before it was required to be homologated despite having had eighteen months of uninterrupted development prior to the first race. Under the 2015 regulations, the power units were divided into thirty-two areas for development, and Honda were given permission to develop nine over the course of the season.^[20]

Race history

Fernando Alonso at the Malaysian Grand Prix

Two weeks before the Australian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso withdrew from the race on medical advice following his testing accident. Having driven in Alonso's stead during the test, Kevin Magnussen remained with the team for the race.^[7] The team endured a difficult start to the season in Melbourne as Button and Magnussen qualified on the final row of the grid,^[21] detuning the engine ahead of the race to preserve its reliability; Button would later be recorded going through the speed trap at 288 km/h (179 mph), some 21 km/h (13 mph) slower than the fastest car.^[22] In a race of attrition, Button finished as the final classified finisher in eleventh, two laps behind the race winner. In doing so, he completed the MP4-30's first full race distance. Magnussen did not make it to the start after his engine blew whilst driving to the grid.^[23] Alonso returned to the team for the Malaysian Grand Prix, where the engine was retuned to operate at a higher level of performance, but he and Button still qualified on the penultimate row of the grid ahead of Manor Marussia drivers Roberto Merhi and Will Stevens. Both cars retired from the race with mechanical problems.^[24]

At the Bahrain Grand Prix, McLaren's best qualifying result was 14th, where Alonso reached the second qualifying session and qualified 14th.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

* Season in progress.

Footnotes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to McLaren MP4-30.

McLaren Founder Bruce McLaren McLaren Technology Group Ron Dennis (25%) TAG Group (25%) Mumtalakat (50%) Head management Éric Boullier (Racing Director) Ron Dennis (Group CEO & part owner) Jonathan Neale (Interim CEO) Current personnel Tim Goss Neil Oatley Peter Prodromou Former personnel John Barnard Gordon Coppuck Mike Coughlan Pat Fry Steve Hallam Norbert Haug Robin Herd Paddy Lowe Neil Martin Teddy Mayer Sam Michael Gordon Murray Adrian Newey Steve Nichols Jo Ramírez Nicholas Tombazis Martin Whitmarsh 2015 race drivers 14. Fernando Alonso 20. Kevin Magnussen 22. Jenson Button 2015 test and reserve drivers Kevin Magnussen Stoffel Vandoorne Oliver Turvey McLaren young driver programme Stoffel Vandoorne Nyck de Vries Ben Barnicoat World Champions Emerson Fittipaldi Lewis Hamilton James Hunt Mika Häkkinen Niki Lauda Alain Prost Ayrton Senna Former drivers See category Drivers' titles 1974 1976 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1998 1999 2008 Constructors' titles 1974 1984 1985 1988 1989 1990 1991 1998 Cars: Formula One M2B M4B M5A M7A M7B M7C M7D M9A M14A M14D M19A M19C M23 M26 M28 M29 M29F M30 MP4 (MP4/1) MP4B (MP4/1B) MP4/1C MP4/1E MP4/2 MP4/2B MP4/2C MP4/3 MP4/4 MP4/5 MP4/5B MP4/6 MP4/6B MP4/7A MP4/8 MP4/9 MP4/10 MP4/10B MP4/10C MP4/11 MP4/11B MP4/12 MP4/13 MP4/14 MP4/15 MP4-16 MP4-17 MP4-17D MP4-18 MP4-19 MP4-19B MP4-20 MP4-21 MP4-22 MP4-23 MP4-24 MP4-25 MP4-26 MP4-27 MP4-28 MP4-29 MP4-30 Formula Two M4A M21 Sports cars Zerex Special M1A M1B M1C M6A M6B M6GT M8A M8B M8C M8D M8E M8F M8FP M12 M20 F1 GTR 12C GT3 650S GT3 P1 GTR USAC/IndyCar M15 M16A M16B M16C M16C/D M16E M24 F5000/Libre M3 M10A M10B M18 M22 M25 Development cars M2A MP4-29H/1X1 Road cars F1 F1 LM SLR (for Mercedes-Benz) MP4-12C P1 X-1 650S 675LT Engines M838T Merged team Project Four Racing Related West Competition