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.)

 

[KekeTheKing]

I'm not sure how official any of these loyalty measurements really are.

Even if Lewis did inquire about a Red Bull drive, it would hardly be the first or last time a driver had a think about sitting in the best car.

 

[Galahad]

I must admit, my comment was a little tongue-in-cheek. Still, if a driver is giving the impression of not wanting to be there, that must have an effect on the team.

In general I think too much importance is placed on what they say, rather than what they do. This is as true in politics as it is in motorsport. As long as Lewis keeps getting the results on track, I see no reason why McLaren should need to look for a replacement.

 

[Road of Bones]

I think part of the problem is the enhanced scrutiny that modern media affords us - we can now dissect every interview/soundbite/press release/facet of body language to our heart's content, and end up making 5 from 2+2 just because of the excess of information that is available to our febrile fingertips.

Sometimes we forget that F1 is made up of (shock! horror!) mere human beings, who are just as prone to whims and vagaries as the rest of us. Can you imagine what it must be like to spend a race weekend, where all you really want to do is go out in your sexy race car and drive it as fast as it'll go, but instead having to answer the same banal questions time after time? I know I'd throw in a few deliberately misleading or fatuous answers just to break up the monotony...

 

[Brogan]

but instead having to answer the same banal questions time after time? I know I'd throw in a few deliberately misleading or fatuous answers just to break up the monotony...

O/T but didn't a bunch of English footballers do that by trying to get as many song titles as possible in a press conference?
I seem to recall they had their wrists slapped for it

 

[Galahad]

O/T but didn't a bunch of English footballers do that by trying to get as many song titles as possible in a press conference?

Wham songs, if I remember rightly.

 

[Road of Bones]

for the first time ever, I feel a sense of kinship with "footers-of-the-ball"...

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

A Low Class regurgitation of Whitmarsh's original Low Class "Crash Kid" moniker from 1 year ago:

http://www.forumula1.com/2011/f1/f1-news/marko-mclaren-now-has-a-crash-kid/

Helmut Marko: "Now (McLaren) have a crash kid in their own team."



Tit For Tat, Children Will Be Children, etc...

 

[Grizzly]

All i take from that is an omission from Helmut that he has the original crash kid

 

[racecub]

If Ron Dennis was still Mclaren boss he would have a word with Lewis with some of his comments about the team and show hows boss and tell him to stop moaning and criticising the engineers or crew

Ron Dennis is still a boss at McLaren, and he has spoken to BOTH drivers about criticising the car this year.

 

[Speshal]

McLaren thread.

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

I have heard cynical rumours that McLaren secretly wanted Vettel to beat Hamilton to the win in Abu Dhabi last year because they didn't want Alonso winning the championship as some of the McLaren people still hate Alonso for the $100 Million fine they got in 2007.

Has anyone else heard of the above?

 

[Slyboogy]

Only heard it from you...

 

[Il_leone]

I have heard cynical rumours that McLaren secretly wanted Vettel to beat Hamilton to the win in Abu Dhabi last year because they didn't want Alonso winning the championship as some of the McLaren people still hate Alonso for the $100 Million fine they got in 2007.

Has anyone else heard of the above?

That has been never been proven then again Mclaren have middle eastern backers so try telling them that they really did not want to win the race to invest and sponsor you?

Its more like certain paranoid people conjuring up Lewis Hamilton conspiracies at Mclaren..I think they ought to know nothing is certain until everyone is crossed the line like in 2008 when Lewis stole the championship at the last corner ..

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

Only heard it from you...

Really?

It was suggested after the Abu Dhabi race that McLaren didn't exactly mind Vettel winning that race because at least it prevented Alonso from taking the title...and there are a number of people at McLaren who hate or harbour ill feelings for Alonso and blame him/his e-mail revelations for the chunky $100 Million fine they got a month after the '07 Hungary meeting.

 

[Sarinaide]

Only heard it from you...

Bless him!

Really?

It was suggested after the Abu Dhabi race that McLaren didn't exactly mind Vettel winning that race because at least it prevented Alonso from taking the title...and there are a number of people at McLaren who hate or harbour ill feelings for Alonso and blame him/his e-mail revelations for the chunky $100 Million fine they got a month after the '07 Hungary meeting.

Thank the powers in the cosmos you decided to come to this forum, I kinda like you (shhhhh)

 

[KekeTheKing]

I'm truly at a loss right now to understand what McLaren are doing at Monza.

For some reason they think that the prevailing wisdom for setting up a car in Italy has been completely wrong for 30 years.

It's Monza for crying out loud, take the downforce off and let these guys have at it.

The car is absolutely crawling down the straights.

80% of the lap is flat-out and they're running a rear wing twice as big as anybody else with a steeper angle of attack.

There isn't a single shred of evidence that would suggest it is a good idea to have a very low top-end speed at Monza.

Hopefully I will have to eat my words.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh happily conceded that it was his personal weakness that prevented him from giving up the title fight and not concentrating, potentially to its detriment, on next year's car.

From the Gaurdian, highlighted in the BBC gossip column.

 

[KekeTheKing]

Title fight talk has always been laughable. But as discussed elsewhere, there isn't any harm in developing this years car right up until the end, as they can carry over a lot of the knowledge.

What are they talking about with "personal weakness" though?

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Title fight talk has always been laughable. But as discussed elsewhere, there isn't any harm in developing this years car right up until the end, as they can carry over a lot of the knowledge.

What are they talking about with "personal weakness" though?

It's odd. If there's any weight to this, it's like Martin is already apologising for next year's failure.

 

[teabagyokel]

Continuing with this years car is a good idea. They don't need to be Theissening!