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.)

 

[gethinceri]

He's gotta be good, he has a Star Wars name!

 

[Il_leone]

gethinceri Well does he possess the Force or the Dark Side then to determine his fate ?

 

[teabagyokel]

Il_leone - Lando makes deals with shadowy organisations which do not end well for him, then leaves to join the rebellion.

So he's joining McLaren then...

 

[Bill Boddy]

McLaren clear out a Ron Dennis choice.

Jost Capito: McLaren to part company with F1 boss after four months

 

[Il_leone]

Would anyone be surprise if Mclaren make more improvements because Ron apparently was a control freak and everyone lived in fear of him accept Alonso

 

[Bill Boddy]

Button had no fear of him, neither did Coulthard, Hakkinen etc. Ron Dennis was a hard taskmaster who also praised success and hated losing; a normal F1 principal.

 

[FB]

Very interesting. I wonder how much more blood letting their will be before McLaren get back on an even keel?

 

[Incubus]

I don't think any driver was ever "in fear" of Ron Dennis. More than a few might have had a fallout with him but they usually gave as good as they got, for better or for worse.

Vonsidering where Honda started in 2015 the only way was ever going to be up anyway so it's quite possible McLaren will carry on improving and would have done so with or without Ron.

 

[Il_leone]

I think it was more some of the engineers back at Woking ..I was just listening to the SKY end of season and it was Ted Kravitz sho mentioned that the people on the floor were living in fear of Ron demanding instant success and putting too much pressure on them

 

[Titch]

I think that after this test and the fact that they have discovered that the oil management system is crap, and that they have huge mechanical issues, which they can't trace, McLaren a once proud name, are headed for the rubbish heap. It would pay them to withdraw completely and go back to the drawing board.

 

[gethinceri]

I can see a lovely solution for them in the late early season.

 

[Bill Boddy]

Even Honda admit to being concerned about Honda.

Formula 1: Honda boss 'worried' about lack of reliability

 

[Il_leone]

Renault I remember went through a lot of engines in 2001 because they tried a radical 111 degree engine which gradually improved and they ultimately became world champions by 2005

I don't understand why Honda wanted to run a detuned engine... it is running the engine at full potential and have it go and then work on the reliability than work on a reliable engine which is slow !

 

[vintly]

 

[Kewee]

So sad to see one the great teams of F1's history struggling so badly. One very sad Kewee.

 

[Il_leone]

It is frustrating and sad to see a team with a history of world champion drivers have fallen so far. I was picking up a new Honda and the joke is they don't even talk about Mclaren

Their revival will have to wait longer than this season

 

[cider_and_toast]

Since their return in 2000 as an engine supplier / F1 team, Honda have scored a single win in 11 seasons.

The only team / supplier with a more lamentable record during this period was Toyota.

I still say McLaren's stubbornness to not allow Honda to supply other teams has restricted the amount of test data they have received and contributed massively to their lack of success.

 

[RasputinLives]

Think how different it would have been if they'd taken a hit and stumped up the cash to keep their team running in 2009? Car was already built with its blown diffusors. They'd have took the title, been at the front of the sport and Merc would have stayed as just Mclaren's engine supplier.

 

[teabagyokel]

cider_and_toast - How many things had to happen for them to take that win as well? Pedro de la bloody Rosa finished 2nd.

Raikkonen cocking up McLaren's best chance of the year by rear-ending a lapped Toro Rosso was the forgotten moment of that one; a zero-win season was a crisis in Woking at the time.

 

[Il_leone]

there appears to be more problems at Mclaren/ HOnda

Formula 1: Honda engine expert Gilles Simon leaves team

Gilles Simon has left Honda's F1 programme and one of the many reasons cited is his ideas are not being listened to

Honda are not helping either if they only look inwards towards its own engineers and do the things like they always have - Japanese style