McLaren MCL32
Fernando Alonso testing the MCL32 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
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| Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
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| Constructor | McLaren | ||||||||||
| Designer(s) |
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| Predecessor | McLaren MP4-31 | ||||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||||
| Chassis | Carbon fibre composite survival cell | ||||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Carbon fibre wishbone and pushrod suspension elements operating inboard torsion bar and dampers | ||||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Carbon fibre wishbone and pullrod suspension elements operating inboard torsion bar and dampers | ||||||||||
| Engine | Honda RA617H, 1.6 L (98 cu in) direct injection V6 turbocharged engine, limited to 15,000 rpm in a mid-mounted, rear-wheel drive layout | ||||||||||
| Electric motor | Kinetic and thermal energy recovery systems | ||||||||||
| Transmission | McLaren Racing gearbox with eight forward and one reverse gears | ||||||||||
| Battery | Honda lithium-ion batteries | ||||||||||
| Weight | 728 kg (1,605.0 lb) (including driver) | ||||||||||
| Fuel | BP | ||||||||||
| Lubricants | Castrol EDGE | ||||||||||
| Brakes | Akebono brake-by-wire system featuring steel calipers and carbon discs and pads | ||||||||||
| Tyres |
Pirelli P Zero (dry) tyres Pirelli Cinturato (wet) tyres Enkei racing wheels |
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| Competition history | |||||||||||
| Notable entrants | McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team | ||||||||||
| Notable drivers |
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| Debut | 2017 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
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The McLaren MCL32 is a Formula One racing car designed and constructed by the McLaren Honda team to compete in the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship. The car's main race drivers are two-time World Drivers' Champion Fernando Alonso, who stayed with the team for a third season; and Stoffel Vandoorne, who joined the team after Jenson Button left the team at the end of the 2016 season. It made its competitive début at the 2017 Australian Grand Prix.
The MCL32 is the first car built by McLaren since the McLaren M30—which contested part of the 1980 season—that does not contain the "MP4" prefix as part of its chassis name. The change was introduced following CEO Ron Dennis's departure from the team's parent company, the McLaren Technology Group, in November 2016.
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) amended the technical regulations for the 2017 season to abandon the token system—which limited engine development over the course of a season—first introduced in 2014, engine supplier Honda was free to extensively redesign the team's power unit, which was named the RA617H. The company started with the ultra-compact RA615H that accommodated the "size zero" concept first conceived for use in the MP4-30 chassis, but with the RA617H moved to recreate the configuration first used by Mercedes in the PU106 series of engines. Honda's Formula One project manager Yusuke Hasegawa described the new architecture for the RA617H as "very high risk, justifying the choice as being the only way to catch up to Mercedes. Hasegawa also admitted that the technology implemented into the design—particularly around the combustion concept—was not entirely understood and that its potential would take time to fully realise.
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