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.)

 

[RasputinLives]

They won't be allowed to beat Merc though. So they'll just become Williams.

 

[Il_leone]

RasputinLives Try telling that to Fernando Alonso I think he can make up the difference to the factory Merc if Mclaren has a decent chassis and I am sure Mclaren will want him to stay

 

[RasputinLives]

I would eat my own excrement if a Mercedes powered Mclaren beat the Mercedes team to a drivers title. I'd even film it for you and put it on YouTube. I Don't care who is driving it.

 

[Il_leone]

RasputinLives Good gracious me It might on some Tube but not YouTube

 

[Il_leone]

McLaren-Honda split appears to move closer after Canada failure

This seems to be the possible nail in the coffin to Honda

 

[FB]

What are they going to do then, push the cars round the track next season?

 

[Il_leone]

FB They will probably go faster and further than being bolted with a Honda engine

 

[Il_leone]

McLaren to ditch Honda engines and switch to Mercedes | Daily Mail Online

This is gathering momentum... you know from this will Red Bull be tempted to go to Honda to go with them and convince them to move the engine building to Honda's Milton Keynes base

Boullier brands Honda’s latest F1 failure at the Canadian GP ‘absolutely not good enough’

 

[RasputinLives]

Daily Mail? Must be made up then.

 

[Il_leone]

I don't think its made up seeing more and more stories coming out that Zac Brown has been speaking to Mercedes and Oujeh is having more hands on involvement



Its not like the silly rumours that you get from Italian media or German media

 

[F1Brits_90]

bye bye honda

F1 Report: 'McLaren decision to divorce Honda has been taken'

 

[RasputinLives]

They'll still be at Sauber though - unless this triggers a full pull out. In which case it's probably bye bye Sauber too.

I will repeat what I said earlier though. A switch back to Merc just means they'll be third team at best. They will not be allowed to beat the parent team. Probably saves Mclaren as an organisation but ends then as a force in F1 - like Williams.

We have a two party system in F1 now with Renault filling the Lib Dems spot.

 

[cider_and_toast]

That's been the case for a while.

As for Sauber, can anyone actually see them as the works Honda entry?

It doesn't seem like a good fit.

I've made this point on a number of occasions. Thanks to the stubborn and short sighted attitude of his Ronness in banning Honda from signing more teams, they have not been able to gather as much data as those companies that are running multiple entries.

Is it a coincidence for example, that Toyota's best finish in the constructors championship as a single team supplier was 8th. The first season they supplied more than one team they jumped to 4th and there after, the best placed Toyota powered cars finished the season 5th, 4th, 5th and 5th. Granted, not all of that is down to the engine but it shows being a multiple supplier must help.

 

[Bill Boddy]

There is always the possibility that Ferrari will win both championships, Mercedes will then decide to go elsewhere but continue supplying engines. Then there would be no holds barred for the Mercedes powered teams.

 

[gethinceri]

That would work great for Mercedes, step away and supply engines. Maybe different levels of development at different prices. "2016 engine guv? That"ll be 50 million. 2017? That's 75. This year's? 100 million"
I think that would be great for F1.

 

[RasputinLives]

That is the old school racing team / engine supplier relationship which I'd love to see return.

Won't though.

It's not a good enough car advert for the board members.

 

[Road of Bones]

Especially not if you're supplying Red Bull...

 

[cider_and_toast]

It surprises me that we don't see more car manufacturer / F1 related advertising. They are out there but it's not the main stay of their advertising campaigns.

 

[RasputinLives]

They Don't need too. A Grand Prix is a 2 hour long advert.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

I think that the primary appeal of F1 racing - speed - is no longer what appeals to car buyers now anyway, seeing as virtually all cars are now capable of significantly exceeding our speed limits, plus car companies don't really want to be seen to encourage reckless driving. The principal factors seem to be things like safety & comfort, which aren't really synonymous with F1.