The McLaren MP4-24 was the Formula One car used by McLaren-Mercedes in the 2009 season. It started the year well behind its rivals but was developed into a race winner, taking two victories with Lewis Hamilton and third place in the constructors’ championship.
McLaren MP4-24 at a glance
| Type | Formula One racing car |
|---|---|
| Season | 2009 |
| Designers | Paddy Lowe, Neil Oatley, Pat Fry, Andrew Bailey, Simon Lacey |
| Engine | Mercedes-Benz, designed by Andy Cowell |
| Drivers | Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen |
| Revealed | McLaren headquarters, Woking, 16 January 2009 |
| First run | Pedro de la Rosa, Algarve, 17 January 2009 |
| Wins | Hungary and Singapore, both Hamilton’s |
| Championship | third with 71 points, one ahead of Ferrari |
| Successor | MP4-25 |
based on one source (English Wikipedia).
History of the McLaren MP4-24
The car was revealed at McLaren’s Woking headquarters on 16 January 2009, and the following day test driver Pedro de la Rosa gave it its first run at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. In testing the MP4-24 was slower than its rivals because of aerodynamic problems, with Hamilton and Kovalainen repeatedly at the bottom of the timesheets. Team principal Martin Whitmarsh said the team had not done a good enough job and admitted the car was underdeveloped and lacked downforce.
The MP4-24 was designed with a conventional diffuser and only received a modified one based on the double-decker principle at the Malaysian Grand Prix, after the FIA confirmed such parts were legal. After the British Grand Prix, the midpoint of the season, McLaren had scored just 13 points, nine of them from Hamilton, against 72 at the same stage of 2008. Hamilton had publicly called for the car to be scrapped and the former team owner turned commentator Eddie Jordan called it possibly the worst car McLaren had ever designed.
Upgrades for the German Grand Prix brought Hamilton fifth on the grid and Kovalainen sixth, but a first-corner collision with Mark Webber’s Red Bull punctured a tyre and damaged the undertray, leaving Hamilton 18th and last. By Hungary both cars had the new specification, and Hamilton won convincingly; Jordan said live on the BBC that he was amazed at how McLaren had turned the car into a winner. Hamilton added a second win from pole in Singapore and third places at Suzuka and São Paulo, and McLaren took third in the constructors’ championship with 71 points, one more than Ferrari.
The MP4-24 was the last McLaren to hold main Mercedes-Benz works status, as McLaren became a customer team in 2010 after Mercedes-Benz and Daimler bought Brawn GP. The livery kept the chrome paint and Vodafone red accents of the two previous seasons, and it was Santander’s final year before the bank moved to Ferrari.
Design and features
- Double-decker diffuser: added from the Malaysian Grand Prix once the FIA confirmed it was legal.
- Mid-season upgrade: a new aerodynamic package that turned a slow car into a winner.
- KERS: used in every race except the British Grand Prix.
- Two wins: Hungary was the first Grand Prix win for a KERS-equipped car, and Singapore came from pole.
- Last works Mercedes: from 2010 McLaren was a Mercedes customer team.
McLaren MP4-24 versions
- MP4-24 (early 2009): the original low-downforce car with a conventional diffuser.
- MP4-24 (from Hungary 2009): the upgraded car with the new aerodynamic package.
- KERS and non-KERS specification: the system was left off only at the British Grand Prix.
The MP4-24 followed the MP4-23 and was replaced by the MP4-25; the earlier MP4-20 had been the team’s last car this quick without a title. More cars are in the McLaren collection.
Sources
- McLaren MP4-24, English Wikipedia: 2009 season, development, KERS
