McLaren MP4-24
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| Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
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| Constructor | McLaren Racing | ||||||||||
| Designer(s) |
Paddy Lowe (Engineering Director) Neil Oatley (Design and Development Director) Pat Fry (Chief Engineer) Doug McKiernan (Chief Aerodynamicist) |
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| Predecessor | McLaren MP4-23 | ||||||||||
| Successor | McLaren MP4-25 | ||||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||||
| Chassis | Moulded carbon fibre / aluminium honeycomb composite incorporating front and side impact structures and integral safety fuel cell. | ||||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Inboard torsion bar/damper system operated by pushrod and bell crank with a double wishbone arrangement | ||||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | As front. | ||||||||||
| Engine | Mercedes-Benz FO 108W 2.4 L (146 cu in) V8. Naturally aspirated, 18,000 RPM limited, with KERS, mid-mounted. | ||||||||||
| Transmission | McLaren, 7 forward speeds + 1 reverse semi-automatic. | ||||||||||
| Fuel |
Mobil High Performance Unleaded (5.75% bio fuel) Mobil 1 lubrication. |
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| Tyres |
Bridgestone Potenza. Enkei wheels. |
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| Competition history | |||||||||||
| Notable entrants | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | ||||||||||
| Notable drivers | 1.  Lewis Hamilton2.  Heikki Kovalainen
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| Debut | 2009 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
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The McLaren MP4-24 was McLaren-Mercedes' Formula One car for the 2009 Formula One season. It was revealed at McLaren's headquarters in Woking, United Kingdom on 16 January 2009.
The following day, team test driver Pedro de la Rosa gave the MP4-24 its first test run at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.
In testing, the MP4-24 was proven slower than its rivals due to aerodynamic problems, with Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen repeatedly at the bottom of the timesheets. The car came under much scrutiny from team members and other critics alike. Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal, said the team "had not done a good enough job". He also went on to say "We have an underdeveloped car, we do not have sufficient aerodynamic downforce and we would like to focus on rectifying that as quickly as we can."
The car was originally designed with a conventional diffuser. The MP4-24 was fitted with a modified diffuser based on similar principles to the double-decker designs at the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix after the FIA confirmed that such components were legal, after several teams had asked the FIA to clarify the matter.
After the British Grand Prix, the midpoint of the 2009 season, McLaren had scored just 13 Constructor's World Championship points with Hamilton scoring 9 and Kovalainen 4. By the same point in 2008 they had scored 72 points and Hamilton was jointly leading the Driver's World Championship with Felipe Massa on 48 points. Hamilton had made public calls to scrap the car and a former team owner turned commentator Eddie Jordan had proclaimed it as "possibly the worst car McLaren have ever designed".
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