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.)

 

[The Artist.....]

EvilWhippet

If mclaren had produced a car that was fundamentally uncompetitive for several seasons in a row, then whitmarsh might be culpable, but what we are seeing from mclaren are small mistakes which have had significant effects on the team's outcomes. Fundamentally, the team is sound, and fundamentally, whitmarsh is doing a good job, but there are just a few detail issues which need ironing out- they could probably do with a new sporting director and co-ordinator though!

 

[Cookinflatsix]

I think its the old Olly North defence

'I had no idea that my staff were providing weapons to our enemies, in fact I don't really know what they get up to'

 

[Brogan]

I would just say that the upgrades massively helped Lewis, but did not do Jenson any favours.

Perhaps that's the best argument yet as to why the actual drivers should test the upgrades.

Simulators and test drivers don't always translate well to the circuit if driving styles are completely different.

 

[FB]

With two drivers with such massively different styles I wonder if Mclaren could make a car to suit both?

 

[Brogan]

It would definitely be a challenge and they would have to compromise in certain areas.

There's only so much you can do with set-up; you can't for example turn a car which is inherently oversteery (is that a word?) into a neutral handling or understeering car with just a few geometry tweaks.

 

[RasputinLives]

As I said over on the LVJ thread I wonder if the car really is un-suited to Jenson as we're saying. We have seen on occasions before that Jenson has certain occasions where he just can not find his set up and he did seem to be going from one extreme to the other all weekend. I think when he's off form he loses confidence and I think this weekend he just couldn't find his groove.

I think we should wait until Monaco before we start saying the upgrades suit Lewis more than Jenson. Button is usually spot on around Monaco and I expect to see him back on or around Hamilton's pace. If not then maybe the car is the issue.

 

[The Artist.....]

You know, I suspect that this weekend was a simple case of trying to chase the set-up. Button had apparently found a sweet spot with the car on the Friday afternoon - and was lapping at the same pace as his team-mate on the hard-tyre runs, despite complaining of understeer. But the number of detail set-up changes that were being made to Button's car suggests that he'd moved away from the optimal set-up.

I am willing to place money that this is one of those occasions where if he had gone back to the set-up that had been put on at the start of Friday practice, he would have been far more competitive on Saturday and Sunday! However, we will never know!

 

[Brogan]

Whitmarsh has finally admitted he was wrong not to tell Hamilton to abort his final lap in qualifying in Spain.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has admitted that he should have told Lewis Hamilton to abandon his Spanish Grand Prix qualifying lap as soon as the team realised it had not put enough fuel in his car.

A mistake in the garage prior to Hamilton's final run in Q3 meant that the British driver did not have enough fuel to be able to complete an in-lap and provide a mandatory sample for the FIA.

But rather than give up on the challenge for pole, McLaren let Hamilton complete his lap before ordering him to stop.

"With hindsight I could have called it a different way, and he could have just come in at the end of the out lap. But frankly I did not expect the penalty that he received."

Perhaps he needs to read up on the rules? A technical infringement is an automatic exclusion.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/99615

 

[Galahad]

I wonder whether McLaren are missing Pat Fry. Ferrari's pit crew are certainly looking the business.

 

[Brogan]

McLaren have just released their new book - McLaren The Art of Racing

The pursuit of perfection is the common thread running through everything we do at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, from the earliest meetings laying down the concept of a new racing car to the ultimate goal of winning at each Grand Prix weekend.

http://www.mclaren.com/page/mclaren-the-art-of-racing

You couldn't make it up...

 

[Incubus]

What about this bit here:

" the frenzy of activity in a racing pitstop contrasts with the quiet, considered haste of the strategists in Mission Control."

 

[Porceliamone]

Daft sods. Crikey, I even got an email celebrating their 150th pole straight after LH's run in Q3. Like Brogan said, you couldn't make it up!

Have you seen the fan reactions around the world right now to McLaren? Harsh to say the least but frankly, deserved.

 

[Cookinflatsix]

I am sure there are still some sites that allowed no criticism or questioning of the team and some that started discussing it years ago!

 

[Porceliamone]

Even McLaren endorsed sites (their FB page for example) has scores of comments berating the team. I wouldn't be surprised if they took half of them down. I don't remember them being lambasted like this, well, ever by their own fans. I suppose Spygate was a different matter. The fans were generally supportive during that period.

 

[Il_leone]

I wonder whether McLaren are missing Pat Fry. Ferrari's pit crew are certainly looking the business.

Pat Fry did appear to sort Ferrari out when he moved in 2010 and they got the flexi wing working and the Ferrari consistent with Alonso

but then Pat Fry did not really sort the car out last year and helping to utlise the EBD and did mention Ferrari had an out of date wind tunnel

Pat Fry realises so far he's got it wrong and Ferrari need to undergo fundamental changes... it will be interesting this was a Ferrari one off or genuine

i do think that because MClaren try to do everything professionally or in a systematic way that they are not as flexible

 

[The Pits]

Who were McLaren trying to deceive?

 

[The Pits]

But you seem to be arguing that this is on a par with spygate?

There was no deception. At all. There is nothing in the stewards log which even sniffs at such.

There was a fuck up, definitely, but I think you are being just a smidge sensationalist.

 

[Porceliamone]

More than a smidge.

 

[Porceliamone]

Just saying if the stewards threw the book (max punishment, severity) because of the nature of the offence...

Just that.
Talk of them being 'lucky' for not having their WCC points removed is sensationalist on your part.

 

[The Pits]

If the stewards thought they were being deceived, why was there not a harsher penalty?

As I see it, the exclusion from qualifying may seem harsh, and indeed it is harsh on Lewis, but what are the penalties which the stewards are allowed to apply?

If deception was involved, there is precedent. Exclusion from the event, loss of points massive fines etc. Also, why was there no mention in the report.

Just for the sake of my memory, what were we told, by whom and when?