Current McLaren

Arguably one of the big teams in Formula One but lately they don't seem to be able to get the basics right.
Some of their strategy and decisions in the last few years has left more than a few observers scratching their heads.

Just a few for starters:

• Leaving Kimi out on a badly flat-spotted tyre, resulting in it exploding on the last lap.
• Leaving Hamilton out on tyres so badly worn they were down to the canvas; Bridgestone themselves demanded that McLaren bring him in and McLaren refused, keeping him out for a few more laps. That decision arguably cost Hamilton the first rookie WDC and is one which will haunt him and McLaren for the rest of their days.
• Not sending Button and Hamilton out to get banker laps in during Q1.
• Sending Hamilton out on used tyres in Q3, with rain forecast, meaning it would be impossible to set a fast lap time on his second attempt on new tyres.

Their major updates seem to send them further down the grid, instead of challenging for pole positions and wins. As the season progresses they tend to get worse before getting better, by which time it is generally too late.

It's often said of them "write them off at your peril", but is this necessarily true?

The last time they won the WCC was in 1998 and their last WDC was 2008, before that 1999.
Their days of regularly winning championships seem to be well and truly behind them.

It's all well and good coming up with reasons why they haven't won championships.
The fact remains though, they have won just one WDC in the last 12 years.

So where to now for McLaren?

(I wrote this in rather a hurry so I will flesh it out when I have more time.)

 

[Il_leone]

Sorry I wonder what the boss at Honda is saying all about this and does that include the phrase

" Simply not good enough"

 

[Il_leone]

Fernando Alonso prioritises a world championship fight in 2018

Seriously the only things that could get Alonso is Renault or Williams because Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes - the chances of getting seat there are slim

 

[Il_leone]

'Alonso will stay if we give him good car' | PlanetF1

That's such a bold statement from Mclaren. How soon does he have to wait ?

 

[F1Brits_90]

" I've never raced with less power!" Ouch !

GP3 engine

the problem with alonso is, that i dont see how alonso can drive a mclaren honda in 2018 i can see how he can drive a mclaren but how can Alonso ever trust Honda again because they said this season that they would on a par with 2016 mercedes they arent even on a par with 2015 Honda

 

[RasputinLives]

Hmm, I'm pretty sure those things are nowhere near the top of Fernando's priorities

Nope his priority is to put himself in the shop window so he ignores those instruction to dog fight with other cars around him thus getting TV time and putting himself in the shop window. Not really a team player is it.

 

[Il_leone]

Has the odds of Alonso quitting Mclaren before the season ends just shortened after yesterday's race?

 

[RasputinLives]

He can't quit whilst this Indy thing is going on.

 

[Il_leone]

Nope but surviving until mid season driving a lemon like the Mclaren would be some achievement if you can call it that

Senna use to be able to make Honda do what he wants but they use to love him for it ... I don't get the sense that the modern Honda react in the same way

 

[Rutherford]

Alonso's attitude seems to be highly counterproductive and it appears to demotivate the people that with and for him.
Vettel on the other hand gets extremely frustrated, when things don't go his way but he also connects with people on a human level and makes them feel equal and their work meaningful. He also isn't an actor that stands in front of the camera who proclaims his greatness.
Alonso should be more cautious as his behaviour may work short term but long term it is damaging and he will lose respect from the people. He really is a prime case of delusion of grandeur.
He is a prime example of a case of delusion of grandeur.

 

[Greenlantern101]

2 laps before breaking down in the test. Amazing.

More Honda trouble after just two laps of Bahrain Formula 1 test

 

[The Pits]

Jenson should have gone to the test, to give him a good view of what to expect come Monaco.

with all the training he has done, he could probably do with some practice sitting on his arse doing **** all for a couple of hours.

 

[The Pits]

@GrandPrixDiary nice to see the talents at MTC haven't gone to waste, look they designed a tow truck for the car Rob Lacy on Twitter

 

[Il_leone]

Rutherford Whilst everything is good at the moment , things look easy for Vettel. We've seen Vettel rant and blame everyone but himself when things go wrong in 2014 and 2016..he is not the only one Hamilton has done it when he does not have a competitive car either

Put yourself in Alonso's situation that Mclaren Honda promised you a competitive car and this year Honda was saying that they believe they were going to catch up and make Mclaren Honda a competitive combination

There is absolutely no excuses how a global car company can't seem to produce a decent engine

It seems like they've gone backwards all the problems in 2014 have resurfaced again - an engine underpowered where the battery runs out , unreliable and uneconomical

When will Honda learn that what they are doing aint working and they need to look outside the company for inspiration

All Honda are doing is destroying Alonso's legacy, Mclaren's legacy and Vandoorne's career before it has started so far

They have to accept that their engine is pathetic and simply not good enough... if they can't realise that then they should not flush money down the loo to save themselves from further embarassment

 

[Road of Bones]

Never a truer word is spoken in jest...

Britain to decide on 8 June « Sniff Petrol

 

[The Pits]

"Arrows with a sense of entitlement"

 

[The Pits]

What a fab headline!!

McLaren baffled by trouble-free run | PlanetF1

That could be straight from Sniff!!!

 

[Bill Boddy]

McLaren is a perfect example of Parkinson's Law.

"Parkinson has numerous examples to support his claim that organizations move into perfectly planned buildings only after their important work is complete. After entering this perfect building, the organization begins to decline. Modern examples include many tech companies that moved into new headquarters just as the tech bubble burst."

Typo corrected.

 

[FB]

Crap, just had the offices I work in redesigned and decorated

 

[RasputinLives]

The officers at my place are a right shambles so feeling pretty good about what we do right now.

 

[FB]

Eric Boullier confirms something everyone already knew - Boullier: Honda eyeing customer team for 2018 | F1i.com