No, McLaren isn't testing tomorrow. They have already presented Diffuser Of Justice® (or whatever) today.

And in Hungary, he started 2nd but was leading out of the first corner. Credit and all that, but it's not an example that illustrates an ability to fight from the back.

And Germany is not an example of Lewis only being able to win from pole. He found himself 4th with a handful of laps to go and still won. Whereas Massa went from 2nd to 3rd, and got shown up by Piquet.

The fact is, when compared to Alonso or Kimi, neither Massa nor Lewis have a brilliant record of winning when they've not been in the lead at the end of the first lap.

Are you sure about that, I thought they would be testing tomorrow.

Yes they moved last Sunday to Thursday, because the parts weren't ready.

Autosport.com - March 15:

"McLaren is also present at this week's test but has decided to run from Monday to Thursday rather than Sunday to Wednesday as originally planned. Lewis Hamilton will drive for the first two days before handing over to team-mate Heikki Kovalainen."

Yes indeed. Maybe they still have one more day - they tested the Bridgestone 2010 tyres for 2 days during the last Jerez test...

http://www.circuitodejerez.com/en/home.htm

Nobody tests anymore, today is the final day.

Thanks guys...damn!

do i sense a little bitterness in one of our resident mclaren bashers

jajajaja TOMA,TOMA Y TOMA

No, I just couldn't recall other versions... how it was? Diffuser Of Doom?

So, it's as I said - today is the final day for both Williams & McLaren.

And again:

16:06 h 1:18.465 para Kovalainen antes de regresar al box...

16:01 h 1:18.621 para Kovalainen...

The diffuser looks like

Mclaren, well i have never seen anything like this in my life, new parts coming almost everyday in two weeks. That is why we won the Championship. Were propobly not the fastest, but we are the fatest to turn things around. Very good job by the engineers. And to people who say, why do they just throw parts on, and now they are using flow vis again. Well ofcourse they are. Firstly, theese parts has not been developed this week, they have been developed over a longer period of time. And sec. offcourse they are using flow vis, they need to make sure that cfd and tunnel datas are correct now, as in season testing is banned. This latest diff definitly look like its going to get developed into a williams or honda solution, Way to go McLaren

We don´t know amount of fuel in car. I supose amount 30-35 kg.

Obviously are very good news for mclaren fans.


Regards

Any chance of the Mclaren getting near to the Japanese Williams No.2 times today?

Sorry to poor cold water but it does seem some are getting ahead of themselves. I still don't think the car is capable of qualifying in the top ten.

WOW.
Bad Ass McLaren

Wins are gifted, wins are stolen it evens out, zzzZ.

Fixed your post.

Now that is the Diffusor of Justice. It would make mincemeat of the competition....LITERALLY!

Some seem to want to pour cold water constantly. Being realistic is all well and good, but optimistic isn't a crime.

You should realise that most aren't expecting the team to start winning or anything similar. That isn't why they're pleased. The car has clearly improved, every day, and the team has been updating it after admitting that it was off the pace INCREDIBLY often. As a fan, when your expectations are lowered so much, every improvement feels great. There was a joke a few days back in the winter testing thread, saying "Hamilton 1.18.1!!!!...just kidding", or something similar. That was how lowly people thought of the car. Now its beaten that. And so then we hear "why is everyone getting so pleased?!?".

It's been a demonstration of what the McLaren team can do with its back against the wall, and its been fantastic to witness

Really fat ass?

Yes it would do a mighty job of diffusing carbon-fiber, aluminium, and limbs across a race track.

Yes, win at all costs!

Very good stint in 18 medium!!!!

The diffuser is unleashing full justice now.

Where is femi and the insider scoops

Wow, I bet none of the other teams are using a foldable diffuser!

And hydraulically adjustable as well

Yeah, Lewis need to simmer down on Saturdays, it's clearly ruining his image on the bulletin boards You do realise that 13 poles out of 35 is in Senna territory and well ahead of a certain Schumacher, don't you?

I am here, just got home from work.
Nice to see you jump for joy!

Although to be fair they changed the qualifying format a few times to stop Michael :-)

Damon Hill's record in the FW16 was amazing too, Senna-esque, but considering the supreme machinery at his disposal, no-one really cared.

And you all that know (birth date May 8th, 1991 according to your profile)

And look at the mess that became, and how much tinkering it took to get it back to something approaching acceptable. The big problem I see is that MM and Co will never admit when they have got something wrong, so don't expect anything to change for the better.

Pardon my complete lack of knowledge on the techincal front, but McLaren's new diffuser today - it has an extra part on top connecting it to the crash structure is it? I believe this is where the whole double decker debate comes from, so much question is - can the solid "wall" part of the triangular section in the middle be taken away, leaving something looking slightly like Brawn's?

Again, just doing this based on photos, so if I'm completely wrong don't murder me. Would be unJust.

Diffuser Wars (Director's Cut);

First solution.


Second solution with some outlet above.


And last one which they use on almost every test.


This is from the third day of Barcelona testing (11.03.2009)


16.03.2009 testing in Jerez (evolution of the previous versions)


19.03.2009 testing in Jerez (this one looks ready for race in Oz)


This is the last day of testing, more updates (probably) we will see in the coming months.

I think things will change, and slightly for the better. But this way of introducing change is not really the way forward, particularly with consensus from the teams.

Evolution of Justice

Of course optimism isn't a crime but to judge by lap time rather than by gap to competition seems to be overly optimistic. Today suggests in some ways that the gap to Williams has remained the same throughout the winter (allowing for the odd bit of yo-yoing.) Of course the FW31 will probably be slowed by Charlie and the boys but I guess I'm just a realist. I never felt the car was that bad nor now do I think the improvements are that dramatic. As a supporter I'd love to be proven wrong.

as someone who followed the tests closely from the start, the improvement has been dramatic when u compare pure laptimes.


Jerez

I remember they did 19.6 with Hamilton with the 08 rear wing and downforce ...and everyone here said it was a media lap cos most of the days test was in 22s and 23s.
With the 09 wing then, it was 25s and 26s and seemingly high tire graining before they remove it and put back the 09 wing.


now with the 09 legit wing, they are doing .18s on the regular and hardly dip past 20s so just like they said, the improvement has been there to see on the timesheets


you are right though that relative pace is what matters....other teams have improved too.

we still dont know the conditions of Nakajimas flying lap and if they were the same as Kovs best lap so we cant read too much into that time difference.

You can also see average stint times reported on motor21 today were comparable and I think Kovs were actually better.

Still, even in the best case scenario, I dont think the mclaren has become the fastest overnite.

but maybe they have now something respectable to start the season with.

And also from JA



So... Anyone able to confirm that McLaren are doing a private test at Jerez tomorrow?

JEREZ TEST - THU 19th MARCH 2009

Date: Thursday, March 19, 2009
Drivers: Heikki Kovalainen
Location: Circuito de Jerez
Track Length: 4.423km
Weather: Sunshine and blue skies
Track temperature: 41°C
Air temperature: 21°C
Laps run today: 84
Kilometres covered today: 372km
Best lap time today: 1m17.946 at 15:31

Programme: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes completed its test programme today in Jerez, as Formula 1 moves its focus to the race track and the opening Grand Prix of the 2009 season in Australia. Heikki was at the wheel of the MP4-24 as the team concluded the on track proving process of the MP4-24 package. New components, which arrived from the McLaren Technology Centre overnight, were fitted to the car for today’s session receiving productive feedback.

Total testing laps completed with MP4-24
Total – 1,655 laps. Lewis – 760 / Heikki – 693 / Pedro – 202
Total testing kilometres covered with MP4-24
Total – 7,363km. Lewis – 3,377km / Heikki – 3,072km / Pedro – 914km
Driver
Constructor Time Laps
Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1m17.494 102
Heikki Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1m17.946 84
http://www.mclaren.com/f1season/jerez-mar09-19.php
-----

At this rate, looks like there'll be plenty of new stuff flying over to Melbourne too. Superb work.

EDIT - If McLaren say they've done all their testing, I would assume that's the case. Not sure where the rumour came from that they were testing another day, unless it was unbelievably hush hush.

James is wrong, there is no test tommorow.

This is looking great. I am pretty sure that the other teams have been busy booking their flights for Australia while we have been gaining a second a lap here, so we should be on for the win in Melbourne.

We've been gaining alright, but other teams have not stood still. I think we'll be competitive in Melbourne, hopefully fighting for podiums.
Wins are still a bit too far away I fear, the grid seems mighty close with Brawn GP still being the unknown factor here.

what

How much has McLaren gained? Last week they were half a second off Williams, this week it's the same.

Its a pisstake. Attempt at one, at least. Try harder.