2004 McLaren Mercedes MP4-19 cocpit too small

[S0300182]

Is McLaren MP4-19's cockpit too small?

The new McLaren MP4-19 has a very small cockpit. Adrian Newey's latest creation offers only a minimum of space for the driver and that might not be enough for Alex Wurz.

The tall Austrian had no problem to fit in the MP4-18 but cannot find enough space in the MP4-19. As a matter of fact, Wurz never drove the new car...

As for David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen, they will have to get used to a car that is very different from the MP4-17D. "The driver is more reclined in the MP4-19 than in the MP4-17D," mentioned David Coulthard. "However, it's a little tighter in the car since the engineers are trying to maximise the legality rules."

Pedro de la Rosa is the only McLaren driver to fit without any problem in the cockpit of the new car. His height of 174 cm is helping, compared with Alex Wurz (182 cm), David Coulthard (182 cm) and Kimi Raikkonen (180 cm), who are considerably taller.

[kteo2003]

i also heard that they have problems with the engine and the setup of the car...in fact raikkonen said that last week at barcelona they had problems and for the first time they were in the same track with ferrari and williams they were much slower...

[ae86_16v]

That seems like old news to me. I remember them reporting the problems way back about 2 months ago or so. How recent are your quotes?

Officially McLaren still hasn't launched the new car yet, so there are still revisions in the process.

It is definitely one of the best looking cars among all the new cars right now.

[kteo2003]

these news were yesterday...i've read them in s greek site.today i 've heard that the bmw -ferrari - toyota have reached 900bhp(more for the bmw) and 19000 rpm with the new engines for the new rules...800km for one grand prix...even thougt that 800km thing is not totaly correct..

[veilsidebr]

Well if Alex wurs can´t enter in the new MP4/19, i also can´t. I have 1,92 hehe

[ravenpaua]

The new engines must resist the hole weekend... so the 800 km for one GP could be possible.
On the other side Mercedes is building a new engine because the actual isn't as powerful as they thought. They possibly bring the new engine after the first GP, and the car will be named MP4-19b.

[eCartman]

Officially McLaren still hasn't launched the new car yet, so there are still revisions in the process.

Actually they're the first team to introduce their 2004 car. It's just that the official launch was late last year so you didn't noticed it.

They're going to make a lot of improvements to this car throughout the season and by the mid-way point it's going to be so many changes they're going to called it the MP4-19B.

[ae86_16v]

The MP4-19, makes its track debut at Valencia in Spain on Tuesday 25th November.

But they still haven't had an "Official" launch yet for this car.

[kteo2003]

the rule says 800km for the moving parts if i remember correct....

[ae86_16v]

Originally Posted by kteo2003 the rule says 800km for the moving parts if i remember correct....

I thought the number was just a general number of how long it needs to last. I thought that it MUST last an entire weekend and that's it, not necessarily 800km. But I think most teams use 800km as a figure that includes Practices, Qualifying, and the Race.

By the way, this was just posted, looks like the small cockpit isn't the only thing they gotta worry about. . .

"McLaren's new MP4-19 racer needs more power and more reliability.

"That was the distinctly downcast appraisal of runner-up champion Kimi Raikkonen on Thursday as he mused on disappointing test-results of the pre-season period.

"He told Autosport: 'I guess we need more horsepower but it is not so easy to find. I'm sure we are not on the level of BMW (Williams) or some others.

"'First we have to try to get [the car] to be reliable.'

"Analysts predict the main problems as on the new Mercedes-Benz V10 powerplant, which has been 'turned down' in a last-ditch bid to get it to last the distance.

"New rules in 2004 require that just one-engine (per car) be used all weekend.

"Raikkonen, 24, and team-mate veteran David Coulthard didn't impress the pace at a recent Barcelona session but Kimi reckons McLaren knows what the problem is.

"'So hopefully we can improve,' he added. 'There is still work to do on the car but at least it seems to be more reliable now. Now it's just the speed.'

"Poor reliability has had an adverse affect on car-development, said Kimi.

"He concluded: 'They say a solution (to the engine problems) are coming. For most of the problems there are solutions - it's just that fixing it takes time.'"

- F1 Central.com

[kteo2003]

ae86_16 read the rules at this site..
http://www.pitpass.com/news2/news.cfm?newsid=8630
as you see it says that the engine must be the same for the wjole weekend the same for 800km...although there are some parts that the teams can change....

[kteo2003]

Engines: The most controversial new rule - and part of FIA President Max Mosley's drive to cut costs - is the introduction of the new rule that limits teams to one engine per driver per race weekend. A driver must use the same engine for the race that he used in the Friday and Saturday practice sessions and qualifying. This means that engines will have to last up to 800 km.

Changing an engine before qualifying will cost the driver 10 grid lapces. Changing the engine after qualifying will mean the driver drops to the back of the grid.

Each team's engines will be inspected at the beginning of the weekend, and significant parts will be 'sealed' to prevent their replacement. Basic work can be done on the engine, including the replacing of spark plugs and even clutches. However replacement of the camshaft would be deemed to be making the engine 'new' and is therefore banned.