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 Pits]

racecub I agree, many people have spent a lot of time highlighting issues at McLaren, however, I would postulate that this year has reached an entirely new level. I would also suggest that at the start of the season, there was good reason to believe that it was simply minor issues, which should be overcome. There now seems to be an amount of Schadenfreude over the whole event, There are some who have jumped on the slightest blip from McLaren to highlight all the things you have listed, for the last few years, that does not necessarily mean that either side was right at the time, and at the start of the season, there was little indication of the scale of the issue.

As for:

apparent preference for the less quick driver and isolation of the faster driver.

Not sure where to go with that.

 

[racecub]

It has definitely reached new heights this year, which is why I think its now apparent to more people.

The last sentence you picked out, probably people see that bit differently, I accept that. But I think it contributed to Lewis leaving.

 

[The Pits]

If this years campaign was fought with the level of competence of the last few years, with the car being significantly better, I believe we would not be having this conversation. In my opinion, obviously. And for that reason, also in my opinion, questions need answering and changes need to be made. I am not calling for anyones heads, however, the McLaren board need to take some time in understanding the issues of the year, and making sure they deal with them, in whichever way is most effective.

 

[downforce]

Last year Button took 12 podiums, 12 podiums!!

This year he has been pretty terrible to tell the truth, as a McLaren fan I am hoping he will rediscover what gave him such imperious form and re apply it.

With Hamilton out the way and being truly team leader, at least to start with, does anyone find this likely or wishful thinking?

 

[Quintessentially]

But he's still only 12points behind Hamilton and can still finish above him....

 

[The Artist.....]

downforce
1 thing has changed from 2011-2012 - the tyres! - For some reason, JB can't cope with the tyres as they are this season, and that has caused problems throughout the season. The 2011 tyres suited him, but 2012, they need to be worked hard immediately for them to work - otherwise they just give up!

If we were in an era where tyres "wore out" then Button would be still in his imperious form. In an era where the optimal thermal window is king, then a driver who looks after his tyres or doesn't keep leaning on them will struggle.

Bruno Senna has suggested the same thing has affected his form... (Although whether Bruno Senna is a good yardstick to hold up is debatable!)

 

[racecub]

And if Hamilton had tyres that allowed straight out racing, not playing tyre games. He'd be king of the lot. But the fact is the powers that be do play around with the tyres and the king is the one who can adapt his driving to what he has to deal with..............and has a car that doesn't break every weekend.

 

[The Artist.....]

racecub
So Vettel is the king to you then? And then Alonso? Certainly Vettel has coped far better than anyone with the changing vagaries of the tyre regulations!

 

[racecub]

Also they've had cars that don't break regularly, but they're certainly up there for consideration.

 

[F1ang-o]

Their teams have been behind them.....100%

 

[The Artist.....]

We can all make allegations without proof. McLaren have been behind their drivers 100% as well!

 

[pirateplunder]

apparent preference for the less quick driver and isolation of the faster driver.

Ignoring Whitmarsh for a minute, Lewis has always been the less favourite with the team. With the engineers and pit crew Alonso was better liked and now Button is better liked. Lewis just isn't as easy to get along with. However, he's immensely more talented than his current team mate but he needs to be protected and appeased and made to feel special (seemingly not uncommon in great F1 drivers).McLaren have failed to do that and because of that they've lost out on a potential multiple champion.

 

[Kewee]

pirateplunder........I'd love you to explain your reasoning and provide some facts to support your beliefs. To suggest Hamilton is immensely more talented than Button is a huge exaggeration. They're drivers with very different styles. Maybe Hamilton's spectacular attacking style appeals to you more but Button gave the team better results last year, finishing runner up to Vettel. He may have a more conservative approach to his driving but results are always a good measure of a driver.
How on earth did you did you decide Alonso was better liked than Hamilton. I'm a huge Alonso fan but I can assure you by the half way point of the 2007 season, Alonso was detested by virtually all in the garage at McLaren.

 

[Brogan]

I can assure you by the half way point of the 2007 season, Alonso was detested by virtually all in the garage at McLaren.

Hardly surprising considering he attempted to blackmail them, after secretly using stolen Ferrari data for himself, and ultimately cost them $100 million and the loss of the WCC.

Also, do you have any proof of this claim, other than what you've read in the NZ press?
If you're going to ask others to provide proof for their beliefs then you shouldn't be surprised for the same to be asked of you.

 

[racecub]

Kewee Button could yet Finnish higher in the championship than Hamilton this year. Would you conclude from that that he has driven better than Hamilton? Of the possible contenders for the WDC this year, Button is the standout candidate for under utilising the machinery available to him. And he feels its the fault of the McLaren car. He says its the worst Mclaren he's driven. And yet this same car, in the hands of Hamilton would be fighting for both championships were it not for atrocious unreliability and errors.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/nov/05/jenson-button-mclaren-worst-car

 

[Brogan]

He says its the worst Mclaren he's driven.

Most unreliable perhaps, but worst?

I must have been watching a different season then as the McLaren (for a lot of the time) has been the best overall car and certainly should have won both championships.

 

[teabagyokel]

Of the possible contenders for the WDC this year, Button is the standout candidate for under utilising the machinery available to him.

How about the driver in a race winning car who has only scored points in 4 races thus far?
How about the driver in a race winning car 150 points behind his team-mate?
How about the driver in a race winning car 100 points behind his team-mate because he has a first lap incident every week?

 

[racecub]

Well if people want to put Button on a par with a Rookie and a driver who has to take a number two role and has been off form for several seasons, then I concede to your point. Note I didn't say had championship winning cars, I said of the championship contenders. That's two very different things. Perhaps I was being over generous putting Button in the championship contender group

 

[teabagyokel]

I'm not putting Button on a par with them, I'm putting him significantly ahead of them. He had six shit races (but then again he's not the only McLaren driver to do so in the last two years) but his form since Germany has been excellent.

As for your "of the possible contenders for the WDC this year" comment, that is simply selective sampling, such that if anyone was to give a better example then that example would not be a possible contender.

 

[The Pits]

If people seem to be happy not to see that this season Button has been well below the levels of the last two seasons, which were also with McLaren, and also with Lewis as a team mate.

Last season, Lewis was excused for under-performing in line with his usual high standards for a number of reasons. Is it not possible that the same could be true for Button this year?