McLaren MP4-30
An MP4-30 driven by Jenson Button at the Malaysian Grand Prix (top, in its original livery) and the Canadian Grand Prix (bottom, in its updated livery) | |||||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | McLaren | ||||||||||
| Designer(s) | Tim Goss (Technical Director) Matt Morris (Engineering Director) Peter Prodromou (Aerodynamics Director) Phil Prew (Chief Engineer) Mark Williams (Head of Vehicle Engineering) Mark Ingham (Head of Vehicle Design) Guillaume Cattelani (Head of Aerodynamics) | ||||||||||
| Predecessor | McLaren MP4-29 | ||||||||||
| Successor | McLaren MP4-31 | ||||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||||
| Chassis | Carbon-fibre composite survival cell | ||||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Pushrod system with inboard torsion bars and dampers | ||||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Pullrod system with inboard torsion bars and dampers | ||||||||||
| Length | 5,100 mm (201 in) for conventional nose; 5,070 mm (199.6 in) for stepped nose | ||||||||||
| Width | 1,800 mm (71 in) | ||||||||||
| Height | 950 mm (37 in) | ||||||||||
| Wheelbase | 3,520 mm (139 in) with -/+25 mm (0.9843 in) adjustable by adjusting the toe depending on circuit layout | ||||||||||
| Engine | Honda RA615H 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 8-speed + 1 reverse sequential seamless semi-automatic paddle shift with epicyclic differential and multi-plate limited slip clutch | ||||||||||
| Battery | Honda lithium-ion batteries | ||||||||||
| Weight | 702 kg (1,548 lb) (with driver), 617 kg (1,360 lb) (without driver),567 kg (1,250 lb) (without driver and fluids) | ||||||||||
| Fuel | Esso and Mobil High Performance Unleaded (5.75% bio fuel) | ||||||||||
| Lubricants | Mobil 1 | ||||||||||
| Brakes | Akebono brake-by-wire carbon discs with steel calipers | ||||||||||
| Tyres | Pirelli P Zero dry slick and Pirelli Cinturato treaded intermediate and wet tyres Enkei 13" magnesium racing wheels | ||||||||||
| Clutch | AP Racing electro-hydraulically operated, carbon multi-plate | ||||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||||
| Notable entrants | McLaren Honda | ||||||||||
| Notable drivers | 14. Fernando Alonso 22. Jenson Button | ||||||||||
| Debut | 2015 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| Last event | 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | ||||||||||
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The McLaren MP4-30 was a Formula One racing car designed by Tim Goss and Neil Oatley for McLaren to compete in the 2015 Formula One season. The car was driven by 2005 and 2006 World Drivers' Champion Fernando Alonso, who returned to McLaren eight years after he last drove for the team and 2009 World Champion Jenson Button. Kevin Magnussen, who drove for the team in 2014, temporarily stood in for Alonso after a test accident. Additional testing and development work was carried out by Magnussen, Stoffel Vandoorne and Oliver Turvey. The car was the first built by McLaren since the MP4/7A—which contested the 1992 season—to be powered by a Honda engine, known as the RA615H, after McLaren ended their twenty-year partnership with Mercedes at the end of the 2014 season.
The car was nicknamed the "size zero Formula One car" by the team for its distinct sharply tapered rear end, which was achieved by designing the Honda engine to operate at higher temperatures than other engines. At the end of the season, the car recorded a best finish of fifth place at the Hungarian Grand Prix, and had scored just twenty-seven points, leaving McLaren ninth in the World Constructors' Championship. Button and Alonso were classified in sixteenth and seventeenth positions respectively, in the World Drivers' Championship, while Magnussen was not formally classified, as he did not start the one race that he entered. This made 2015 the most difficult season in Formula One that the team had endured in 35 years, as a string of technical problems and retirements compromised the car's performance. An analysis of the project pointed towards failure in communication between McLaren and Honda, Honda under-estimating the technology required for the engine, and critical faults in the engine's design, as the cause of the team's problems.