McLaren has complete confidence that it hasn’t missed a trick by not following the trend of stepped noses which have been a feature up and down the grid.
The Woking based outfit is the only team, so far, to not have a step in its nose as a result of new regulations – unlike the seven other teams which have launched their 2012 cars.
Talking about the concept to Autosport, McLaren’s technical director Paddy Lowe dimissed any concerns.
“This new rule came along and, like every year, you do revisit this stuff,” he explained. “So we revisited it, did our sums again and decided that we would stick with the philosophy we have got.
“Different teams will come out with different answers to those equations always, because they have different sensitivities. There is no good or bad way – so that rule has not affected us.”
McLaren were able to keep a smooth nose because they adopt a lower chassis when designing their car, the opposite to what Red Bull do, as they want their nose to be as high as possible to allow more air flow under the car.
“For those teams that went down that [high chassis] trend, which Red Bull Racing started off, pushing particularly the front of the chassis and the nose high, they have continued to pursue that policy. And being the quickest car, it is no surprise that it became fashionable as a direction.”
Lowe described a the step as a compromise when running a high chassis.
“They, then, are the ones that have been affected by the new rules and have had to drop the nose and introduce a compromise to that concept because you have got a step. Some people have some interesting ideas around the use of that step, and we are looking with interest at all of that stuff.
“My model of it is that it’s not a case of us missing some trick. It is not a trick or a loophole that we did not spot. We have always known that you can lift your chassis there, but have chosen to not do it now. We did not do it before either, when there was not nearly the same constraint that you have now. That is the philosophy we have gone with.”
