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.)

 

[Mephistopheles]

"A deeper shade of mephistopheles" I do hope that doesn't become the aphorism on this site ZakspeedYakspeed

 

[Greenlantern101]

Autosport are now reporting that Mclaren have failed the crash tests. They aren't always correct but it is rare that they get stuff wrong.
Still not through the crash tests with only 11 days until testing is a huge cock up, there really is no excuse for it.

It would perhaps explain why Whitmarsh was replaced. Incompetence.

 

[sobriety]

And there I was hoping to be proven wrong

 

[Mephistopheles]

It's probably something and nothing the report doesn't say they have actually failed any tests it just says not all of them have been completed yet...

And yet I still can't believe that a company with McLarens resources keep fucking up....

 

[Mephistopheles]

I have searched everywhere on the internet for news about the McLaren MP4-29 not passing the crash test and there is nothing, the only source out there is autosport I would have thought that if it were true then it would be all over the F1 news sites....

 

[racecub]

Well, well, well, how karma has a habit of biting one on the bottom. I seem to remember very clearly quite a large group of people being labelled conspiracy theorists for suggesting all was not well at McLaren some time ago; that Martin did not have his finger on the pulse, that he was easily influenced by the wrong things/people, that he didn’t focus on the exceptional but rather settled for mediocrity, that he reorganised his garage to aid the weaker driver to the detriment of the faster one, that he made poor staff choices(Sam Michael), that he followed the feedback and direction of a driver that was lost, that his decisions may have been swayed by emotion rather than professionalism. There are more, but I’ll stop there.
The result? Mclaren loose one of the best drivers on the grid and a top engineer, they have the worst season ever and have now failed a crash test for the next season. Luckily the powers that be at Mclaren have come to their senses and reinstated Ron Dennis; not a man without fault, but certainly not a man to endorse mediocrity and preside over failure and decline.
Already, within days of the announcement there is renewed interest in McLaren, the buzz is returning, and I for one am delighted! That Mclaren, with their illustrious heritage, the team to rival Ferrari for heritage and results, should be reduced to this state by an inept triumvirate (Whitmarsh, Button and Michael) is deplorable. I apologise to Button fans, he can race well when everything is as he likes it and has scored good points for Mclaren, but too often he can’t find the set up, can’t qualify, can’t find the grip and resorts to politicking and whinging his way forward. I doubt he is the man to lead McLaren to new highs. He will not be in his comfort zone guiding the team and giving feedback on a completely new car whilst hanging on to the rear end of a turbo beast. I suspect as the door bangs in the wake of Whitmarsh’s departure (it may be called ‘taking over a new area’, or ‘sidestepping’, but it will be getting the sack)Button and Michael will follow close behind.
So who will take over the reigns? TP: Ross? Ron? a young guy? interesting speculation. Ross would be an absolute coup!!!!
Who will be the lead driver? Mag? a lot on his young shoulders, but what an opportunity for the lad to be the next Lewis! Alonso? I think unlikely in the wake of Ron’s return. And Vandoorne? will they be brave enough to run him alongside Mag? I guess it depends on how Mag fares in 2014. But he who dares……..
For me, I’m just delighted that the team I supported from 2005 until the end of 2012 (with serious misgivings over the last couple of years)may finally be regaining some dignity and getting back to their true place near the front of the grid. Bring it on McLaren!!!

 

[The Artist.....]

I have searched everywhere on the internet for news about the McLaren MP4-29 not passing the crash test and there is nothing, the only source out there is autosport I would have thought that if it were true then it would be all over the F1 news sites....

The nearest I have to collaboration is this
http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3213/9121556/McLaren-pushing-to-the-limit-

It sounds to me that McLaren just haven't got through all the tests, but are confident to have completed them in the next few days!

 

[Mephistopheles]

racecub There is no conformation that any crash tests have been failed and as far as I am aware at present Martin Whitmarsh is still Team Principle and in fact he was only CEO for 2013 up until the end of 2012 Ron Dennis was still in charge of the whole shebang so the only thing that has changed at the moment is that it has just gone back to how it was a year ago what will happen in the future only Ron knows..

 

[Mephistopheles]

Yes The Artist..... that is how I read it not yet passed all the test is not the same thing as failed they simply may not have been done yet and passing them is just a formality, even Autosport doesn't claim they have failed any of the tests they just mark it as a rumour...

 

[teabagyokel]

We'll, racecub, I can imagine Dennis presiding over a period of decline. 2000-06 and 1992-97 frankly spring to mind. In addition, he must take some of the blame for the mismanagement of 2007 as well.

Suggestions that he reorganised the garage to cow-tow to the weaker driver (who is the only one to finish on a Championship podium in the EBD era, interestingly) sounds oddly like Marca circa 2007 and is, frankly, unsubstantiated tosh extrapolated from the fact that Hamilton lost in 2011; because of managerial interference that must have turned that steering wheel repeatedly in the direction of Felipe Massa.

 

[Fenderman]

"that must have turned that steering wheel repeatedly in the direction of Felipe Massa..." and/or visa versa

 

[teabagyokel]

Fenderman - If Whitmarsh was affecting the Ferrari's steering that's a whole lot more interesting

 

[Fenderman]

 

[Galahad]

Both Ron and Martin have been present through periods of feast and famine.

Judging which is responsible for a relative decline as a TV viewer - a medium that does few favours to either - i find difficult.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Whitmarsh is just someone to point the finger at for people of a lynch mob persuasion...

 

[Galahad]

Thing is, Whitmarsh was number two in the team for over a decade. So however you cut it this is not Ron's finest hour.

Still he's the one with the shares so ultimately he calls the shots...

 

[racecub]

teabagyokel You have a point, Ron has had fallow years, but he's also had much success, Whitmarsh? Nothing. But lets not be too hard on him, incompetence, squandering of talent, poor judgement, inept leadership, emotional decision making etc etc; but Lewis' poor performance in 2011? Come on, you can't lay that at Whitmarsh's door. That one is down to Hamilton and his racers instinct to always chase the top step, even when it's not viable. To not settle for cruise and colect to second place.
To quote the very best...
" being second is to be the first of the ones to lose"
" I am not designed to come second or third. I am designed to win."
"Winning us the most important. Everything is consequence of that"
It didn't pay off for Lewis in 2011, but why are we talking about Lewis? Lewis had nothing to do with the unmitigated disaster for McLaren that was 2013. He was gone. He was driving a Mercedes, quite successfully. He wasn't at McLaren to have his setups copied and McLaren was lost. Despite button claiming how chuffed he was that the team was following his leadership and the car was the best he'd ever driven. It was their worst season ever.
Well, it's seems big changes are afoot and they can't come soon enough, let's hope they've not let things slide too far. We need a strong McLaren on the grid.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Yeah but coming second is still better than coming fourth year after year, and anyway racecub you're the one who brought Hamilton up in your earlier post, and all drivers want to win no matter who they are Lewis isn't unique in that respect also Lewis had no idea how bad the car would be in 2013 his moving to Mercedes was just fortuitous on his part...

 

[teabagyokel]

that he reorganised his garage to aid the weaker driver to the detriment of the faster one

That's why we're talking about Hamilton.

It is a counterfactual claim that Whitmarsh hampered Hamilton that I'm talking about.

If you read carefully, I very much blamed Hamilton for his 2011 failure but did not attempt to claim this was an implicit example of a fatal flaw stemming from his greatness. It wasn't a case of not settling for second, it was generally not being near the car's natural position of second and hitting Massa in an attempt to finish slightly closer to Button's rear wing.

But the point is, Hamilton was treated as equitably as Alonso before him, and quit McLaren not because he felt pushed out by Button, but because BOTH halves of the garage had repeated failures.

2013 wasn't good, but I really don't see how Button was any more to blame for that than was Hamilton for the initial shitemobile in 2009.

 

[Mephistopheles]

One could claim that the failure of Ron Dennis to give Alonso number 1 status and treated a rookie driver on equal terms with a world champion which subsequently ended up in a shit slinging match and cost McLaren all of the money they would have had from their WDC points plus the heftiest fine ever levied against a team of $100,000,000 was the biggest Managerial fuck up by any team principle in the entire history of the sport and it was all down to Ron Dennis and yet Whitmarsh gets the stick for McLarens woes...