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.)

 

[Cookinflatsix]

Free, but at a cost of 5 grid places, and arguably 10 WC points

 

[racecub]

Lewis got a new one but took a five place grid drop for it. If theyre redisigning the rear end of the Mclaren and need a different shaped gear box to fit it, do you think that means Lewis' gear box wont fit the new rear end, so he'll have to use the old rear end?Or do you think they thought ahead and squeezed in the new shaped gearbox ready for the new rear end?

 

[Jen]

I'm sure McLaren have thought this through and won't disadvantage either of their drivers.

 

[Cookinflatsix]

Nothing will surprise me anymore about the decisions and implementations of this current team

If they are really going to change the rear end and the gearbox version it wont be pretty, and expect one driver to be sorted first, with the other suffering greatly (could be either of them but there might be tears)

 

[racecub]

But they're doing JensonsLewis will have to wait another 3 races!! D'you think that journalist might ave got the gear box thing wrong

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

downforce

No he didn't get a free gearbox. He changed it a coped a 5 place grid penality for doing so!

 

[tonyw151]

Isn't the rule that boxes last for 4 races? We just had the 4th so arguments about Buttons gearbox are null and void.

 

[racecub]

I dont think it was a dirty trick to retire the car if it was out of the points and could get him a free gear box. Thats the sort of strategy calls McLaren SHOULD be making. Obviously I was in a panic that it would disadvantage Lewis, becsuse they go on so much about things being fair.
Excellent point about the four racesSo that journalist did get it wrong.
And yes, best leave the tinfoil hats at home eh, not conducive to good debate

 

[The Artist.....]

Isn't the rule that boxes last for 4 races?

I'm afraid not. Sporting regulation 28.6 states that each gearbox must be used for 5 consecutive events!
http://argent.fia.com/web/fia-publi...LE/1-2012 SPORTING REGULATIONS 09-03-2012.pdf


It does strike me as absurd though that rows can emerge on here based on nothing more than a rumour! - and a rumour that neither the team nor the drivers can do anything about!

Frankly, since JB and LH a out of sync with gearboxes, were there to be any advances with the gearbox, then due to the 5 race rule, one of them would get the new box before the other! There will be a schedule of updates due through the season- if, say they had scheduled a new design of gearbox for Monaco, because of force majeure, LH would need to wait... (or take a penalty).... Similarly, if it were the other way round, JB would have to wait!

 

[Speshal]

Now call me Mr silly pants but didn't Jenson retire due to a cracked exhaust?

We all know what can happen then.

 

[The Artist.....]

Cookinflatsix

You're still talking about this as a fait accompli! We don't know whether JB will be given a new gearbox for Spain or not! The fact is that JB's car sounded horrendous when he retired! It may well be that JB has a gearbox change- but as I say, nothing has been confirmed, and all of this is based on rumours, which are likely to have very little basis in reality!

 

[Cookinflatsix]

The Artist..... Apologies for causing a misunderstanding, I don't assume it's a fait accompli, I have used a lot of ifs etc in my post

please see linked post

JBs car sounded knackered and that might have been why he was retired although his pace was as good as it had been all race after he pitted due to puncture, the team might have retired him for strategic reasons or for his knackered car
There might or might not be a new rear end requiring a reshaped gearbox

All we have done here is to post a couple of times in response to the report by a journalist, discussing and examining the possibility and implications if he is correct

It would be sad if members of a free thinking society feel inhibited from discussing the latest news or developments because of an expectation of disapproval from highbrow and morally superior members

If we start on that route we would end up all having to think and discuss only those things approved by a committee, and as history tells us they might be proven wrong later on (e.g. the flat Earth committee)

 

[Speshal]

JBs car sounded knackered <snip> the team might have retired him for his knackered car

http://bit.ly/JSlrOa

 

[Speshal]

Ahhh the old strategy of making the car sound knackered for nefarious reason, cunning.

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

Let's talk about a different subject here.

If your a Mclaren fan, what got you into becoming a fan of them?

I remember watching a race when Mika Hakkinen was in the team and thinking i like the look of the car and the name of Mika Hakkinen was the first foreign name i heard/knew. Thats was when i was about 10 and ever since i've been hooked on Mclaren and F1.

 

[Cookinflatsix]

My first car was an old Honda accord that had McLaren World champion stickers on

And ofcourse Senna and Ron Dennis, I thought then for some reason that McLaren were a poor relative to a classier Williams but liked the cars

 

[racecub]

Speshal No I dont think thats the case. The car obviously had problems but was running faster than it had run all race, the only time it was running well. But Button was in 13th and well out of the points;so it made strategic sense to retire him and enable him to get a new gearbox(which it turns out has to last 5 not 4 races)Had Button been in the points Im sure they wouldn have retired the car. So a good and understandable decision from McLaren. What concerns me is if they now update Buttons rear at the tests but not Lewis'.

edit: I became a McLaren fan when Juan Pablo went there.

 

[Senna's_right_foot]

Senna at Monaco '92, followed them ever since. Always helped that they've had drivers like Senna, Hakkinen, Raikkonen, Alonso and now Hamilton.

 

[tonyw151]

Failed to notice the rule change. For this season I guess?

Though is it comfirmed there is a new gearbox design? I thought 'no major upgrades' is the Mclaren line at the moment and surely a gearbox would need major testing as would any related areo (assuming design change is for areo reasons).

 

[racecub]

A dullard. he was a lowly mechanic and 'made' Mclaren!

Tony I dont think McLaren have confirmed the gearbox change so we'll have to wait and see if the journo's right on that. But they like to keep nasty things from lewis till the last minute (they didnt tell him about his gearbox failure until the race weekend though they knew about it after the previous race) they thought it might upset him. Perhaps they think it will upset him if they tell him he wont be needed at the testing because they'll only be testing Buttons new rear end and the test drivers can do that ok.I wait with bated breath about this gearbox