McLaren MP4-27 launch – first pictures of McLaren’s 2012 F1 car
2012 F1 cars
McLaren MP4-27, 2012
McLaren have revealed their latest F1 contender.
The MP4-27 is the car the team hope will allow Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton to compete for the championship in 2012.
Button said: “As you can see, this is a beautiful car. Many you see will not be.”
Team principal Martin Whitmarsh added: “Cars really do look beautiful if they win races. But beauty is more than skin deep and there’s some beautiful engineering under the skin.”
Hamilton described the new car as a “strong base”. The 2008 world champion said: “I’ve been keenly following the development of MP4-27 over the winter and I’ve been really encouraged by the results and the data that the engineers have been showing me.
“I think we already had a very strong base to build upon: Jenson and I won six races with MP4-26 last year and I think we’ve been able to retain all the strengths and the reliability of that design while also incorporating lots of improvements and new ideas into the new car.
“Of course, the biggest changes for 2012 are the modifications to the exhaust regulations – that will reduce the downforce and grip that we had last year, but it just puts the emphasis on the designers to try and claw some of that back in other areas.”
According to McLaren, the new car features narrower rear bodywork, to improve airflow at the rear of the car. The revised cooling system re-directs air to the gearbox oil-cooler. The distinctive U-shaped sidepods of the 2011 car are gone, which McLaren say is a consequence of the FIA’s new exhaust regulations.
McLaren finished second in the championship for the last two years, and so have the numbers three and four on their cars once again. Whitmarsh said: “Having finished second in the constructors’ championship for the past two seasons, we’re determined to mount a sustained, hard challenge for both world titles.
“Our engineering team continues to develop and grow: while the key names who head the department are well known – Tim Goss, Paddy Lowe and Neil Oatley – it’s the strength in depth within the department that continually impresses. I’m extremely proud of our efforts to invest in and recruit young graduate engineers and to develop and school them in the ways of Formula 1.”
Test driver Oliver Turvey will be first to drive the car at Jerez next week.
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- McLaren MP4-27
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
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- McLaren MP4-27, 2012
More information on the 2012 F1 season.
2012 F1 cars
- New HRT F112 seen for the first time in Spain
- New Marussia MR01 breaks cover at Silverstone
- A closer look at the Caterham CT01
- Mercedes W03 officially revealed in Spain
- Picture: Mercedes W03 spied at Silverstone
- Mercedes W03 spotted testing at Silverstone
- Williams FW34 launch: First pictures of their 2012 F1 car
- Toro Rosso STR7 – first pictures and video of Toro Rosso’s 2012 F1 car
- Red Bull RB8 launch – first pictures and video of Red Bull’s 2012 F1 car
- Sauber C31 launch – first pictures and video of Sauber’s 2012 F1 car
Browse all 2012 F1 cars articles
Images © McLaren, F1 Fanatic
Neil Davies (@neil-davies) said on 1st February 2012, 11:48
I think (and hope) that bulge housing the exhaust will look very different come the first race.
Solo (@solo) said on 1st February 2012, 11:48
https://p.twimg.com/AkkEpakCQAA2pOD.jpg:large
No L shaped sidepods.
verstappen (@verstappen) said on 1st February 2012, 12:00
What’s that man pointing to?
Calum (@calum) said on 1st February 2012, 12:29
@verstappen He’s saying ‘Oh no, they got rid of chrome rims and went back to black!’
Leftie (@leftie) said on 1st February 2012, 11:49
As usual, they are not showing the real thing yet. I believe the difference wiil be substantial this year.
mclaren (@mclaren) said on 1st February 2012, 11:53
Agree, i think they have a lot of things off tha car that they’ll fit on, on a later ocassion, probably testing, bet you newey had pen to paper drawing diagrams when wraps came off. Mclaren are hiding their so called “questionable innobations” that are going to be moaned about by rivals
Leftie (@leftie) said on 1st February 2012, 11:54
And i do believe they are outside the 2012 regulations concerning the nosecone with shown specification.
BBT (@bbt) said on 1st February 2012, 12:02
Ah, you could be correct on that if it is the old nose cone as well.
McLarenFanJamm (@mclarenfanjamm) said on 1st February 2012, 12:17
The nose is legal, check this pic of the 2011 cars compared to Scarbs tech drawings of the 2012 rules: here
BBT (@bbt) said on 1st February 2012, 13:38
2011 nose does not confirm, on to the tech guys confirm as such, its close but not cigar, a purely placed yellow square on a tiny image proves nothing.
BBT (@bbt) said on 1st February 2012, 11:59
I can’t see it changing much to be honest, OK it has the stock release day front wing that they have used for about three seasons but apart from seeing the ‘real’ new front wing what else is going to change, surely they will be small changes, floor, diffuster etc, normally difficult to spot
Polishboy808 said on 1st February 2012, 11:52
Wow, that is ugly. I guess they sat down and said, ‘yup, the 24 was a failure, so I think we should go for the same this year’….. Its sooo boring and uninspired, this doesnt look like it’ll be a winner. But I’m not Newey, so we’ll have to see how slow/fast it is soon.
Ivano (@ivano) said on 1st February 2012, 11:53
LOL at all the speculation concepts on the net! XD
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 1st February 2012, 11:53
A few things I’ve noticed, from this gallery:
Firstly, we’ve all spotted the tongue under the nose. I’m guessing that is to optimise airflow over the front splitter. It appears to arc up slightly, so I’m guessing it’s designed to dump air over the splitter at the optimal angle.
Secondly – and more interestingly – there is no obvious exit for the air that enters the sidepods. If you look at the final shot in the gallery, you can see the bodywork goes right up to the diffuser, with a small opening (I’m guessing there is another hidden from view on the other side). It looks like McLaren might be trying to simulate an exhaust-blown diffuser, but using the air that passes through the car instead of exhaust gasses, which is very clever. But it’s difficult to tell, since the teams like to keep the details of their cars’ rear ends as secret as possible.
ScuderiaVincero (@scuderiavincero) said on 1st February 2012, 12:05
Those sidepods, from the front they look like something I’d see from the Star Wars Trilogy. In a good way.
egsgeg said on 1st February 2012, 11:53
Cant find the exhausts.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 1st February 2012, 11:55
They’re on the side, that little dimple just behind the Vodafone branding. Their position is largely fixed this year – in order to stop teams from using exhaust-blown diffusers, the FIA has limited the placement of exhaust outlets.
Ivano (@ivano) said on 1st February 2012, 11:56
On the sides, in that buldges in front of the rear wheels.
vjanik said on 1st February 2012, 12:00
they are in a sort of bulge or bump between the vodafone logo and the back wheels. an interesting way of controlling the airflow around the exhaust exit.
KS said on 1st February 2012, 11:53
the mp4-27 is like the mp4-25
Ivano (@ivano) said on 1st February 2012, 11:55
It actaully looks a lot like the Ferrari F-60!!!
vjanik said on 1st February 2012, 11:56
am i seeing an STR style sidpepod with a double floor?
cant really tell from the picture, but it looks like thats how they will be feeding the diffuser.
dennis (@dennis) said on 2nd February 2012, 10:31
Apparently no. The STR sidepod was cut down until the chassis. This isn’t.
GeeMac (@geemac) said on 2nd February 2012, 11:55
It’s not quite like the STR, the sidepods are still connected to the floor of the car, but there is a very aggressive undercut in addition to the sidepods being teeny-weeny in the RBR style.
Solo (@solo) said on 1st February 2012, 12:02
Are people blind to the fact that this car looks very aggressive and has once again extreme side-pods compared to the usual desighn?
http://img.championat.com/i/news/65/93/1328096593_b_trete-foto.jpg
matt88 (@matt88) said on 1st February 2012, 12:24
this picture is awesome. Those sidepods are really badass, it’s like the designer was told: “Make it evil”.
GeeMac (@geemac) said on 2nd February 2012, 11:56
Agreed, they have a really aggressive undercut on top of being tiny. They look really special.
McLarenFanJamm (@mclarenfanjamm) said on 1st February 2012, 12:25
For anyone who was doubting the legality of the nose, Scarbs has just posted on Twitter that it IS legal.
Adrian (@adrian_debian) said on 1st February 2012, 12:31
I think the car looks very good, at least better then Caterham at this point. I think the color will look better on track instead of those lights.
What I’m really concerned about is if it will at least be on par with the Red Bull from the start of the season.
Snafu (@snafu) said on 1st February 2012, 12:43
now Ferrari would look stupid if it has copied L-shaped sidepods!
Ivano (@ivano) said on 1st February 2012, 13:01
It would be more stupid if Ferrari did copy those sidepods, and win with them. :p
Snafu (@snafu) said on 1st February 2012, 13:57
LOL
JamieFranklinF1 (@jamiefranklinf1) said on 1st February 2012, 12:49
I wasn’t too sure on the car at first, it seemed quite dull. But having seen the car from different angles, I think it looks fantastic.
The sidepods look awesome, and I love the way that they angle upwards as they go out, not to mention the components that look like they down near to the floor.
I’m also very glad that they have gone with a nose that doesn’t have the same bump as the Caterham. It will surely be one of the best looking cars on the grid this year, no doubt.
Here’s hoping the car is as quick as it looks (or quicker). On a side note, it does seem to look closer to the designs of the 2009 cars.