- McLaren MP4-23
-
McLaren MP4-23 Category Formula One Constructor McLaren Designer(s) Paddy Lowe
(Engineering Director)
Neil Oatley
(Design and Development Director)
Tim Goss (Chief Engineer)
Doug McKiernan
(Chief Aerodynamicist)Technical specifications Chassis Moulded carbon fibre/aluminium honeycomb composite incorporating front and side impact structures Suspension (front) Adjustable double wish-bone arrangement Suspension (rear) Adjustable double wish-bone arrangement Engine Mercedes-Benz FO 108V 2.4 litre V8 Naturally aspirated, 19,000 RPM Limited mid-mounted Transmission McLaren, 7 forward speeds + 1 reverse Semi-automatic Fuel Mobil Unleaded (5.75% bio fuel)
Mobil 1 Lubricants, newly developed 2008 formula for lower friction and better wear resistanceTyres Bridgestone Potenza
Enkei Wheels Front & RearCompetition history Notable entrants Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Notable drivers 22. Lewis Hamilton
23. Heikki KovalainenDebut 2008 Australian Grand Prix Races Wins Poles Fastest laps 18 6 8 3 Constructors' Championships 0 Drivers' Championships 1 (Lewis Hamilton, 2008) The McLaren MP4-23 was Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes' Formula One car for the 2008 Formula One season. It was revealed at Mercedes-Benz's motor sport museum in Stuttgart on 7 January 2008,[1] and it had its first on-track appearance at Jerez in Spain on 9 January.[2] The car won the 2008 World Driver's Championship in the hands of Lewis Hamilton, but finished 2nd in the constructor's championship which was won by Ferrari. The car, along with its rivals during the season marked the end of an era of complex aerodynamic appendages on the bodywork, which would be banned for the 2009 season.
Contents
Development
Following the 2007 Formula One espionage controversy the MP4-23 was subject to FIA inspection before the start of the 2008 season, to determine if any Ferrari intellectual property was on the car.[3][4] After an admission that the Ferrari information was disseminated more widely throughout the team than was originally thought and apology by McLaren on 13 December 2007, and a pledge that measures would be taken to rectify the situation, the FIA decided that there was no need for a formal hearing and the matter was considered closed.[5][6]
Revisions from the MP4-22 include a longer wheel-base, the removal of the "bullhorns" from the airbox and a new rear wing which differs both in main profile and its endplates.[7][8] In the pre-German Grand Prix testing, the car was run with a "shark fin" engine cover, as sported by cars such as the Renault R28 and the Red Bull RB4, but the team did not permanently run it.[9]
At the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix, some new aerodynamic parts were added, including "dumbo wings", similar to those used by Honda on the RA108, which were temporarily removed at the Italian Grand Prix but reinstated for the rest of the season.
The MP4-23 was succeeded by the MP4-24.
Photos and media
-
Lewis Hamilton driving the MP4-23 at the 2008 Australian Grand Prix.
-
Heikki Kovalainen driving the MP4-23 at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.
-
Hamilton drives to victory in the 2008 British Grand Prix.
-
Gary Paffett testing a modified MP4-23 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in preparation for the revised aerodynamic rules of 2009.
Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year Team Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Points WCC 2008 McLaren Mercedes V8 B AUS MAL BHR ESP TUR MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN EUR BEL ITA SIN JPN CHN BRA 151 2nd Hamilton 1 5 13 3 2 1 Ret 10 1 1 5 2 31 7 3 12 1 5 Kovalainen 5 3 5 Ret 12 8 9 4 5 5 1 4 10 2 10 Ret Ret 7 1 Hamilton crossed the line first at the Belgian Grand Prix but was given a 25 second penalty for cutting the last corner on lap 42.
Notes and references
- ^ "McLaren unveils title contender". ITV. 2008-01-07. http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=41559. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
- ^ "De la Rosa debuts the MP4-23 in Spain". Formula1.com. 2008-01-09. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/1/7242.html. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
- ^ "McLaren hit by constructors' ban". BBC. 2007-09-13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/6991147.stm. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
- ^ FIA Technical Department (2007-12-05) (PDF). Report by the Federation Internationale De L'Automobile Technical Department to the World Motor Sport Council.. FIA. http://www.fia.com/public/mclaren.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-08.[dead link]
- ^ "McLaren Statement" (Press release). McLaren. 2007-12-13. http://www.mclaren.com/latestnews/press-releases-2007.php?article=60. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
- ^ "McLaren Apology and Undertakings" (Press release). FIA. 2007-12-13. http://www.fia.com/mediacentre/Press_Releases/FIA_Sport/2007/December/131207-01.html. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
- ^ "2008 Ultimate Season Review". F1 Racing (Haymarket): pp. 99–101. March 2008.
- ^ McLaren MP4-23 - rear wing www.formula1.com
- ^ "McLaren vows to keep pushing for titles". ITV-F1. 11/07/2008. http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=43325.
External links
Awards Preceded by
McLaren MP4-22Autosport
Racing Car Of The Year
2008Succeeded by
Brawn BGP 001Cars that competed in the 2008 Formula One season Ferrari F2008 • BMW Sauber F1.08 • Renault R28 • Williams FW30 • Red Bull RB4 • Toyota TF108 • Toro Rosso STR2B • Toro Rosso STR3 • Honda RA108 • Super Aguri SA08 • Force India VJM01 • McLaren MP4-23McLaren Founder: Bruce McLaren
McLaren Group: Ron Dennis (15%) | TAG Group (15%) | Mumtalakat (30%) | Daimler AG (11%)
Current personnel: Martin Whitmarsh | Paddy Lowe | Neil Oatley
Former personnel: John Barnard | Gordon Coppuck | Pat Fry | Norbert Haug | Robin Herd | Neil Martin | Teddy Mayer | Gordon Murray | Adrian Newey | Steve Nichols | Jo Ramirez | Nicholas Tombazis
Race drivers: 3. Lewis Hamilton | 4. Jenson ButtonTest drivers: Gary Paffett | Pedro de la Rosa
World Champions: Emerson Fittipaldi | Lewis Hamilton | James Hunt | Mika Häkkinen | Niki Lauda | Alain Prost | Ayrton Senna
Cars
Formula One: M2B | M4B | M5A | M7A | M7B | M7C | M7D | M9A | M14A | M14D | M19A | M19C | M23 | M26 | M28 | M29 | M29F | M30 | MP4 (MP4/1) | MP4B (MP4/1B) | MP4/1C | MP4/1E | MP4/2 | MP4/2B | MP4/2C | MP4/3 | MP4/4 | MP4/5 | MP4/5B | MP4/6 | MP4/6B | MP4/7A | MP4/8 | MP4/9 | MP4/10 | MP4/10B | MP4/10C | MP4/11 | MP4/11B | MP4/12 | MP4/13 | MP4/14 | MP4/15 | MP4-16 | MP4-17 | MP4-17D | MP4-18 | MP4-19 | MP4-19B | MP4-20 | MP4-21 | MP4-22 | MP4-23 | MP4-24 | MP4-25 | MP4-26
Formula Two: M4A | M21
Sports cars: Zerex Special | M1A | M1B | M1C | M6A | M6B | M6GT | M8A | M8B | M8C | M8D | M8E | M8F | M8FP | M12 | M20 | F1 GTR
USAC/IndyCar: M15 | M16A | M16B | M16C | M16C/D | M16E | M24
F5000/Libre: M3 | M10A | M10B | M18 | M22 | M25
Development cars: M2A
Road cars: F1 | F1 LM | SLR (for Mercedes-Benz) | MP4-12C | 799
Engines: M838TCategories:- 2008 Formula One season cars
- McLaren Formula One cars
-
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.