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.)

 

[Brogan]

It would seem McLaren's design philosophy over the last few seasons is now paying dividends.

How much faster can they get if they also incorporate Mercedes' front wing f-duct into the design?

 

[ExtremeNinja]

You get the feeling that this type of innovation is something McLaren will develop better than most, too.

 

[Brogan]

Has anyone noticed how much better the McLaren mirrors are this season?

Compare this on board lap with one from last season - there is a marked improvement.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17498497

 

[KekeTheKing]

This has nothing to do with prejudices, preferences, or perceived injustices, but I have a question for all McLaren fans out there.

Does Martin Whitmarsh inspire confidence in you that he can lead the team to a title?

 

[Porceliamone]

I've always been a bit about Whitmarsh as the F1 Racing Team Principal. I've never been awed by his leadership skills as such but on the flip-side, you don't get to where he is within an organisation like The McLaren Group for being shit at what you do. He's worked there for well over 20 years is it (off the top of my head)? A few more trophyless seasons and there might be a change though.

He has a different relationship with each of the drivers. In my mind there's definitely more of an affinity with JB than LH, it's pretty obvious that there's a certain affection towards JB. I don't however think it influences the chances/treatment each driver gets in the team.

Some people you get on with. Some people you just get on with better!

 

[Senna's_right_foot]

This has nothing to do with prejudices, preferences, or perceived injustices, but I have a question for all McLaren fans out there.

Does Martin Whitmarsh inspire confidence in you that he can lead the team to a title?

Not so much Whitmarsh as such, but when it comes down to making key strategic decisions during a race McLaren seem to be far more content to sit back and follow the lead rather than taking the initiative. Whether that is down to the drivers (note plural) not being assertive enough in making their demands known (when they need to come in for new tyres/wets/inters/slicks etc) or whether they rely too much on 'data' to make their decisions, I don't know. I remember Interlagos 2008 when Whitmarsh claimed after the race that they always knew Hamilton would catch Glock, I remember thinking i'd never heard so much BS.
I thought Sam Michael moving to McLaren was a move made to rectify this kind of thing, but it's clear that in the last two races Hamilton has been left out longer than he should have been, clearly to his detriment. And for no apparent reason other than 'it's McLaren policy'. Clearly the policy has to change, not only to benefit Hamilton but both drivers if they want to maximise the car's performance and win the WCC, which they haven't done for years.

 

[KekeTheKing]

So is that two "NO's"?

 

[ExtremeNinja]

I thought he had been doing a fairly decent job and I have defended him in the past but in recent times, with two talented ballsy drivers, what McLaren need is a talented ballsy manager. He just doesn't seem to have the minerals or the guts to make the decisions that matter, when they matter.

 

[Jen]

I like Whitmarsh - however, he doesn't inspire me any more than Horner or Domenicali do.

He's a nice enough chap, maybe not enough 'Ron' for McLaren though.

 

[F1ang-o]

It's a no...from me....but I hope I'm wrong..they seem to have a great car this year
Mclaren don't seem to act quick enough.................
Plenty of Blah Blah Blah.....from MW
He is the weakest link.........

My favourite is Ross Brawn......inspires confidence & when he says something...it's worth listening to.

 

[Brogan]

Does Martin Whitmarsh inspire confidence in you that he can lead the team to a title?

Not particularly.

 

[teabagyokel]

Does Martin Whitmarsh inspire confidence in you that he can lead the team to a title?

Absolutely yes. I think he's done a fine job with McLaren.

 

[The Pits]

It's a no...from me....but I hope I'm wrong..they seem to have a great car this year
Mclaren don't seem to act quick enough.................
Plenty of Blah Blah Blah.....from MW
He is the weakest link.........

My favourite is Ross Brawn......inspires confidence & when he says something...it's worth listening to.

Where have Merc been for the last few seasons?

 

[F1ang-o]

Where have Merc been for the last few seasons?

It's where they are going..........two year team
Ross at McLaren.......can hope

 

[The Pits]

They are hardly a two year team! Despite the name changes, they still have the superb facilities that Honda invested in, and a whole raft of top line staff.

Personally, I agree with your appraisal of Ross Brawn to a point, but the car has rarely met with his ambitions for it. Not sure that is a great example.

 

[F1ang-o]

Going off topic..........So I'll leave it there

 

[KekeTheKing]

Absolutely yes.

Do you consider yourself a McLaren supporter though?

I would definitely expect a Vettel fan to approve of the job Marty is doing.

And I'm not saying that non-McLaren fans shouldn't have an opinion on this matter, I am just more interested in how McLaren supporters feel about MW's leadership abilities.

 

[FB]

I think the views of non-Mclaren fans (or of one driver or the other) would be far objective on how Mclaren have progressed (or not) under Whitmarsh. For me the problem has not been with the team management it has been with the engineering and design people. Until they make a car which can beat the field we won't see whether MW is a good manager or not and, as far as I'm aware, he doesn't design the car. Isn't Ron still CEO and ultimately responsible for this side of Mclaren?

 

[KekeTheKing]

The question isn't whether Whitmarsh has done a decent job. He obviously has, helping the team collect 14 Grand Prix victories while at the helm. The question is, "Does he inspire confidence within McLaren fans that his tenure will result in championships?" It's a gut feeling question.

And while Ron may still be the "Big Boss", Martin is the very public face of the McLaren F1 team. For better or worse.

 

[kristi]

The question is, "Does he inspire confidence within McLaren fans that his tenure will result in championships?" It's a gut feeling question.

My gut feeling is that their currently driver policy - whether it's Whitmarsh's or Dennis' or just plain McLaren Group's - doesn't inspire confidence in me. It makes me feel (gut feeling here) that having a "co-equal Number 1" driver policy with two relatively evenly matched ex-World Champions in this era of closely matched cars is not a "championship" winning strategy with respect to the Drivers Championship.

Whereas Ferrari are united in optimising pitstop timing and the like for their only Number 1, you're going to have races where one of the two McLaren drivers is going to be left exposed on that crucial lap when the other has first call to the pits. Even in Q3 you can't always optimize everything for both drivers. McLaren fans will know this from last year.

This leaves their drivers exposed to a Ferrari/Alonso attack (it already has) in terms of the WDC. What will happen if a heavily upgraded package arrives from Maranello for the Spanish GP?

Further, when push comes to shove, Red Bull Racing will begin to back Vettel to the hilt - at the expense of Webber - if their only chance of defending their titles is a WDC.
So, to me, Whitmarsh isn't the problem. The problem is the co-equal Number 1 driver policy at McLaren. It only works when you have a huge car advantage (1988, 1989 and before that 1984). It doesn't work when you don't have a big car advantage (2007).

But McLaren would or should know this. Having a clear Number 1 worked in 1986, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999 and 2008. That is the model they should use.

My view: Get rid of Button or Hamilton if they want to beat Alonso and Vettel to World Drivers Championships and concentrate on optimizing everything for only one Number 1.