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.)

 

[sushifiesta]

Mephistopheles I'd say Red Bull have been Renault's main focus for a few years now but I agree that the customer engines will be pretty much identical to the "home team" engines. The difference is that the engine manufacturers will prioritise the requirements and feedback of their own teams over the customer teams. It's also possible that, if the engines are frequently updated and changed throughout the season, a situation may arise where there has only been time to install a new update to two engines, for example. Those engines would then go to the number one team, much like new aerodynamic upgrades go to the number one driver in teams at the minute.

I guess what I'm saying is that the engines will be fundamentally the same for the customer teams but the manufacturer teams will get a better care package.

 

[Mephistopheles]

How long before the engines are homogmonastunderthearmpitwaveatafriendised? or some word like that...

 

[The Pits]

Homogenised?

 

[Mephistopheles]

That's it!! When does that happen? Assuming the teams are limited to a certain number of engines per season and the engines are allocated before the season starts then in season engine development won't be possible and so the question of customer teams getting sub standard power units becomes moot....

 

[Il_leone]

Mephistopheles
As much I enjoyed Brawn's success it was a botch job where it they managed to redesign the car for a bigger Merc engine and moving the gearbox in the process which actually cost them 1 second in pace according to their windtunnel results

They were surprised if the windtunnel results were right the other cars should be producing those times and they were not.

Ron Dennis was actually seething that Whitmarsh did Brawn a favour with Merc engines. It gave Mercedes a way out to buy their own team without Mclaren's agreement because Ron insisted it was a 50/50 partnership but never selling all the control stake to Mercedes or making it difficult for them to buy the team out

 

[Il_leone]

sushifiesta Mephistopheles

That is the general concern for Mclaren that Mercedes GP will get all the parts initially that is compatible with the engine ... Mclaren are a satellite team or customer team

What works for MErcedes may not work for Mclaren

it happens in MotoGP with Honda and Yamaha satellite teams

You only have to look at Ferrari customer team results.

Only Renault really seem to be able to provide equal engines to all its teams and dont seem to have an issue of the customer team beating the factory team. Honda last time tried to provide equal engines to both BAR and Jordan and when they realised it did not work they dropped Jordan

 

[sushifiesta]

Mephistopheles Yeah, if I had to make a prediction I'd say engine development will start to be frozen following the 2015 season after Honda arrive.

 

[Mephistopheles]

If that is the case I hope Honda don't balls it up like they did the last time engine development was frozen being left with an under powered unit...

 

[KekeTheKing]

homogmonastunderthearmpitwaveatafriendised?.

Homologated.

And Meph, it's not that Merc cannot or will not provide McLaren with the same exact engines they will run, it's that they're not going to want to share everything they learn and develop on the powerplant. And it's not just because they're no longer technical partners, it's because they're going to be pairing up with a manufacturer who is still in the R&D phase of building a similar unit.

Anyway, if the chassis is good enough, the Mercedes lump will do just fine.

 

[sushifiesta]

McLaren's headline grabbing technical signing is Peter Prodromou, one of Newey's right hand men who worked with him in his McLaren days as well.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24504983

 

[Greenlantern101]

 

[Mephistopheles]

He's a big fish and it's a good catch....

 

[The Pits]

Well, If I was a key player at Red Bull, then I would be a little peeved that all the credit gets piled on to Newey, and would maybe feel that it would be good to stand on my own for a while.

I would hope that they would get him across earlier than 2015, as that would effectively rule out his impact for the start of the rule changes, but still a good move.

 

[Bill Boddy]

The fact that Red Bull are saying that he cannot go until he has completed his contract shows that they regard him highly.

 

[Greenlantern101]

I agree he would almost certainly be put on 'gardening leave' towards the end of 2014.

They are effectively cheating. But this time instead of stealing blue prints they are stealing the guy that draws the blue prints.

 

[Mephistopheles]

It is not clear who you say are cheating Greenlantern101

 

[FB]

Just watching How to Build a Super Car and they light up the McLaren sign out side of the factory in red, rather than green, when they win a race. No need to check if the bulbs are still working until 2015 then Ron.

 

[Il_leone]

If Mclaren really want this guy on board then they will pay and buy out his contract to get him surely
Its time Mclaren put one over Red Bull for messing up their 2006 season by when Red Bull hired Newey along with some Mclaren engineers and that season Mclaren were winless

I don't believe the guy is one silly wages like Newey and all Red Bull can do is to put the guy on garden leave but then he could simply hand his resignation note

 

[FB]

If he's got a contract Red Bull can make him honour it and make him sit at home for a year on full pay. McLaren can offer to buy out his contract but why would Red Bull want one of their senior engineers at a competitor for 2014?

 

[Il_leone]

FB Not if he resigns although that would be an issue for Mclaren to compensate Red Bull for that

Contracts mean nothing if you have financial muscle power . Mclaren relented to Mercedes to let Paddy Lowe start work early for them so if Mclaren can find loopholes or break clauses around the contract then they can get their man

Off course Red Bull does not want him to work for a competitor