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.)

 

[Il_leone]

Grand Prix Driver: The final act in the McLaren-Honda tragedy

Not seen the series but it is clear Mclaren 's reputation was simply destroyed by Honda's imcompetence from the first time they tried to fit the engine and it could not start properly.

How galling must that be for a such legendary names in the sport

 

[RasputinLives]

The documentary funded by the shareholders of Mclaren blames Honda for the bad results? I'm shocked.

Also I'd be very careful saying "it's very clear" and "I've not a actually watched it" in the same sentence. It's usually written in letters that are signed 'angry from Dagenham'.

 

[Il_leone]

Indeed but you do start off on a bad note if you can't fit the engine to the car for a start despite being one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world with vast resources.

So if Toro Rosso and Honda to get it right this season will simply make Woking look even more foolish

 

[FB]

I'm going to have a bitch about the hype McLaren are trying to generate for their new car but also to moan about he MCL designation and the number they have given the car, 33. I recall when the fat American took over from his Ronness he added the MCL "to take McLaren back to it's roots" and now we have all this bollocks about it being painted orange.

Dear Fat American

The last true McLaren was the M30 in 1980. If you wanted to to take McLaren back to it's roots replacing MP4 with MCL is a pointless, PR exercise and no one is fooled. If you wanted to give the car a proper number it should be the M63, not MCL33.

Painting the car orange is not a tilt to the heritage of McLaren as national coloiurs have hardly been used in F1 since the mid 60's and there is NO association with Bruce McLaren or New Zealand with the car, the team or anything to do with the company.

None of us are fooled by your stupid PR games, please pack it in.

From

True F1 fans.

 

[Titch]

Is that a rant? I do believe that was a rant.

 

[cider_and_toast]

True F1 fans.

I thought it was only Hamilton who had those?

 

[F1Brits_90]

zak brown is charge of PR isn't he, so he trying to create a story for sponsors & make it relevant even if that story was 50 years ago. unfortunately for us fans are second to them & also I am missing something with the orange because I thought that black was the national colour of new Zealand as most sporting teams playing in it

 

[FB]

Well, shows what I know, New Zealand racing colours are a green body with a silver bonnet: List of international auto racing colours - Wikipedia

That said, many of the early McLarens were orange (such is this rather lovely M7a) so maybe it was Bruce's lucky colour?

 

[cider_and_toast]

Well there is an interesting mystery. Back in the day the powers that be got quite upset if teams didn't run in the right colours.

The first time cars ran in sponsorship at a championship race was at the 1968 South African GP.

I read somewhere that McLaren got into trouble for running their car at a race where it was still in the colour of the Japanese team from the film Grand Prix.

So where did the orange come from?

Edit: further to my last, after a quick bit of googling, McLaren ran in orange between 1968 and 1971 which is obviously in the period after national racing colours were dropped in F1.

 

[RasputinLives]

They've only gone Orange to tempt Tango as a title sponsor.

I too FB am very tied of this current Mclaren PR machine. Stop telling us how good your car is, how you have the best drivers and how it's going to be 'so great' this season. The proof will be in the pudding.

 

[FB]

You might think I have a bit of a downer on McLaren but I couldn't believe this article. We've built a brand new car to take our new engine, we will be testing this for 6 days prior to the start of the season but we already know it's crap so plan major upgrades for the first race.

McLaren planning "substantial" car update for Australia

 

[Titch]

As the season ended so it starts. How depressing.

 

[cider_and_toast]

I saw the same article and thought the same thing. The car hasn't even turned a wheel in anger and they are telling the world it needs a massive upgrade already.

To be honest I haven't read the article but given that they haven't tested the car, how do they know it needs an upgrade anyway?

 

[Il_leone]

This is trending on twitter as #Bebrave

They have also named Petrobras as their fuel supplier as well as list all the sponsors they have. Why is Volvo one of them??

 

[F1Brits_90]

I understand that it sounds like a bad thing. But when i read it i thought. Isnt this normality now in f1. With rate of progess As in last few years all the big teams have a testing package & then will bring upgrades already to Austraila if not malaysia.

Because in the 6 weeks between finishing car design/build & end of testing they can already see how to improve

 

[Il_leone]

You don't bring all your gizmos to the first test and show it off if you know its going to add more speed. The critical thing for Mclaren to get some decent mileage

 

[Dartman]

Volvo because it's owned by the Chinese, you need a far east company to blame when it all goes tits up, bit like last year

 

[sobriety]

New McLaren is out. I quite like it, hopefully it'll not be shit.

 

[F1Brits_90]

Yeah looks nice. Fans we need them & alonso back at the front for a 4 way battle as much zak brown does as its been too long brazil 2012 last time they won or even stood on the podium & have no scapegoat as bad as honda were

 

[Speshal]

tempt Tango as a title sponsor.

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