The conquest of a fourth consecutive Constructors' title by McLaren in 1991 did not allow Ron Dennis to rest easy. The strength of the Williams FW14, which had already been evident during the 1991 season despite being hampered by the teething issues of a new car, fully revealed itself in the first two races of the 1992 season. Meanwhile, the Woking-based team was still using the same MP4/6 cars from 1991, merely updated to the B version. Ron Dennis's team relied on the same well-established pair of drivers who had been racing McLaren cars for three years. Brazilian champion Ayrton Senna finished third in South Africa and retired in Mexico, while the gritty Austrian Gerhard Berger scored points in both races, although only managing a fourth and a fifth place.
 |
| McLAREN MP4/7, Ayrton Senna Montréal, Canadian GP 1992 |
According to Dennis’s plans, the new MP4/7 car was supposed to debut in Spain, at the fourth race of the season, but Williams's dominance forced McLaren engineers to accelerate the timeline and introduce it at Imola during the San Marino Grand Prix, the third round of the championship and the first in Europe. Under the technical direction of Neil Oatley, a large team of engineers worked on the project: Matthew Jeffreys as project leader, David North as chief engineer for the transmission department, David Neilson for suspension, Bob Bell for research and development, and Henri Durand, recently arrived from Ferrari, for aerodynamics. Honda engineer Osamu Goto was responsible for developing the new Honda RA122E/B V12 engine, which in its final season powering McLaren cars produced a remarkable 775 hp at 14,500 rpm. The MP4/7 was, in fact, the last McLaren to use the powerful Japanese engine, at least until 2015, when the McLaren-Honda partnership reappeared in Formula 1.
 |
| McLAREN MP4/7, Gerhard Berger Montréal, Canadian GP 1992 |
The new McLaren was not merely an evolution of the 1991 car, but rather a revolutionary car in terms of technology, though admittedly still inferior to the “space-age” Williams FW14B. As had become common in Formula 1, the Woking cars now featured a semi-automatic electronic gearbox developed with the help of Techniques d'Avant Garde (TAG). This system allowed drivers to keep their foot on the accelerator during gear changes, as the traditional cable was replaced by an electronic sensor. Additionally, the gearbox’s control unit automatically managed engine speed, rev-matching, and clutch engagement to optimize and speed up shifts. The MP4/7 was also equipped with an innovative active suspension system, although it was never used in races due to reliability concerns.
 |
| McLAREN MP4/7, Ayrton Senna Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1992 |
Aesthetically, the most noticeable difference was at the front, where the new carbon fiber monocoque chassis now featured the rounded, elongated shape typical of modern Formula 1 cars, abandoning the boxy design of previous MP4 models. The most significant characteristic was that the chassis itself served as the bodywork, with no separate upper shell, everything was integrated into the chassis structure. Despite the undeniable advantages of a raised nose, Oatley chose to stick with a traditional low nose design, with the front wing's endplates mounted laterally. The car’s sidepods and rear end were nearly identical to those of the previous MP4/6, which had already proven highly efficient aerodynamically.
 |
| McLAREN MP4/7, Gerhard Berger Montréal, Canadian GP 1992 |
The MP4/7 proved to be a very capable car, winning five Grands Prix, three with Senna and two with Berger, as well as securing three second places and three thirds. It accumulated a total of 99 points, allowing McLaren to finish the Constructors’ Championship in second place, behind the unbeatable Williams-Renault. Senna and Berger finished fourth and fifth respectively in the Drivers’ Championship, also trailing Michael Schumacher, who drove for Benetton.
Comments
Post a Comment