Mclaren Mercedes 2014

[lebesset]

glad the driver furore is over , how about getting to the real problems facing the team , integrating with the honda power plant ?

as the works mercedes team it was not so difficult , everyone at every level , including any germans involved , spoke fluent english but that isn't going to be true as the de facto works team at honda , a completely difficult culture

perhaps what is required is someone who is completely at home with both cultures .....wonder if jessica is available !

[XRayF1]

1) Lotus has just signed (or at least announced) the Merc PU deal for the next 3 years, if my memory serves me right.
I do not think it likely that Lotus will change that as they know for certain that the Merc PU is currently the most
powerful on the grid. Why change that and risk having another year like the last?

Aha - you are right, Lotus has signed up to Merc power already, so that is definitely out. So Caterham or Lotus?

Frankly honest, can't see either of them going for it. Definitely not Caterham, only possibly Sauber (thought you meant those two)

Caterham simply as they will not be on the starting grid next season (IMHO) - finding an investor takes a lot of time, and the solicitor has to make sure to make the best deal for the creditors. (Who may want to have a team whose chassis is below par as well as its engine, and needs a lot of costly investment to even get to the points range?)
And I can't see that they will go with a crowdfunding project only.

Sauber ... well, this may be an opportunity for them. But this is extremely uncertain if not entirely impossible.
Because the same reasoning for Lotus applies for them as well - they cannot allow themselves to have another year in 2015 like 2014.
The only chance I see is a substantially enhanced commercial agreement they might(!) pry out from FOM.
And even if they do it will not help them for 2015, as the car is outfitted with the engine right now and not in March.

Considering this, Sauber may have an window for 2016, which may also give them a 'wait-and-see' opportunity for the Honda PU in 2015.

But again ... everything depends on their capability to stay alive in 2015 all together ...

[MercedesAMGSpy]

glad the driver furore is over , how about getting to the real problems facing the team , integrating with the honda power plant ?

as the works mercedes team it was not so difficult , everyone at every level , including any germans involved , spoke fluent english but that isn't going to be true as the de facto works team at honda , a completely difficult culture

perhaps what is required is someone who is completely at home with both cultures .....wonder if jessica is available !

It wasn't a big problem in 1988-1991. Honda want to do everything to win again in F1 - same as McLaren. Maybe Mercedes will be too strong in 2015, but I expect great things in the future. With a driver like Alonso behind the wheel McLaren is a serious contender again.

[Unc1eM0nty]

Glad its finally sorted, they have a top driver line up now with some excellent technical people coming on board, I still think 2015 is going to be a traditional season though, its going to take time for everything to gel.

It's not just the engine, they were the 3rd fastest Merc team remember, Williams did a much better job on chassis & aero, they have big steps to make in all departments and I think its unrealistic to expect them to get everything right in one go.

They will give it a go though, there's real momentum in the team now, everyone will push hard all season long.

[Avocado]

Eric Boullier: Fernando Alonso will challenge McLaren-Honda F1 team

"I know it's going to be challenging, [but] you have to take it as a huge positive," Boullier said.

"This is the kind of commitment and dedication you want.

"We gain the best driver in the world today, and to have convinced Fernando to stop his last two years of contract with Ferrari to join us, that means a lot for me.

"It means he believes in what we are building.

"Clearly he's going to challenge us every day. To be honest with you, he's texting me every day already!

"He's really on it. This is the kind of boost we were looking for."

[rapha-78]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86Tf6xjwbJk

jenson's shirt is white and black, it might be the colours of the mp4-30

[lebesset]

Eric Boullier: Fernando Alonso will challenge McLaren-Honda F1 team

"I know it's going to be challenging, [but] you have to take it as a huge positive," Boullier said.

"This is the kind of commitment and dedication you want.

"We gain the best driver in the world today, and to have convinced Fernando to stop his last two years of contract with Ferrari to join us, that means a lot for me.

"It means he believes in what we are building.

"Clearly he's going to challenge us every day. To be honest with you, he's texting me every day already!

"He's really on it. This is the kind of boost we were looking for."

so alonso is try to influence boullier to give him preferential treatment , is he ?
to be honest I am starting to get heartily sick of boullier trying to pretend he is the big wheel at McLaren when he is in reality in the same position as rob smedley ie is senior enough to get the boss's ear , but doesn't make the big decisions

[adrianjordan]

glad the driver furore is over , how about getting to the real problems facing the team , integrating with the honda power plant ?

as the works mercedes team it was not so difficult , everyone at every level , including any germans involved , spoke fluent english but that isn't going to be true as the de facto works team at honda , a completely difficult culture

perhaps what is required is someone who is completely at home with both cultures .....wonder if jessica is available !

I would be very, very surprised if the vast majority of the people from Honda don't speak English already...

[Sasha]

glad the driver furore is over , how about getting to the real problems facing the team , integrating with the honda power plant ?

as the works mercedes team it was not so difficult , everyone at every level , including any germans involved , spoke fluent english but that isn't going to be true as the de facto works team at honda , a completely difficult culture

perhaps what is required is someone who is completely at home with both cultures .....wonder if jessica is available !

I would be very, very surprised if the vast majority of the people from Honda don't speak English already...

It is Japanese culture.Even when they know English,they will not use it in most cases unless you get them mad.
The Euro press thought Honda's CEO Ito didn't understand English until at a press meeting he replied in English after they got him mad for asking the same question over and over again- why they have no sports cars and left F1.

[Mesteño]

"Clearly he's going to challenge us every day. To be honest with you, he's texting me every day already!

"He's really on it. This is the kind of boost we were looking for."

so alonso is try to influence boullier to give him preferential treatment , is he ?

Seriously... don't you think Alonso is old -and good driver- enough to do that?

[lebesset]

"Clearly he's going to challenge us every day. To be honest with you, he's texting me every day already!

"He's really on it. This is the kind of boost we were looking for."

so alonso is try to influence boullier to give him preferential treatment , is he ?

Seriously... don't you think Alonso is old -and good driver- enough to do that?

if he is good enough he won't need to , will he !
after all the first thing is to be good enough to beat your team mate , isn't it

[Mesteño]

I think best drivers are that obsessive about their job and they always need to know how things are going.

[Manoah2u]

and you guys are taking this all seriously?

just painting an image, the past was not a bright issue between Mclaren and Alonso.
Just think about spygate and how much that cost Mclaren

To 'calm' the masses they're playing a game of 'look how well Alonso is doing here'.
Step 1; fake smiles [Kodak moment]
Step 2; have team personell suckup about how great their new driver is and how it boosts morale
Step 3; have Alonso say how much better he's feeling compared to his previous team

Result; through fakery and suckups just for media harloting Alonso fans are happy because they now believe he
did a good thing. Mclaren fans happy because Alonso is a teamplayer (yeah right).

Don't get me wrong, I think Alonso is an amazing driver and despite they could have done a lot better on driver
treatment I like Mclaren as a team, too. I just hate these completely transparent standard protocol fakery.

[Mesteño]

I really don't think it is fakery.

[JimClarkFan]

and you guys are taking this all seriously?

just painting an image, the past was not a bright issue between Mclaren and Alonso.
Just think about spygate and how much that cost Mclaren

To 'calm' the masses they're playing a game of 'look how well Alonso is doing here'.
Step 1; fake smiles [Kodak moment]
Step 2; have team personell suckup about how great their new driver is and how it boosts morale
Step 3; have Alonso say how much better he's feeling compared to his previous team

Result; through fakery and suckups just for media harloting Alonso fans are happy because they now believe he
did a good thing. Mclaren fans happy because Alonso is a teamplayer (yeah right).

Don't get me wrong, I think Alonso is an amazing driver and despite they could have done a lot better on driver
treatment I like Mclaren as a team, too. I just hate these completely transparent standard protocol fakery.

The simple fact is that both need one another. Alonso needs a team more competant than Ferrari and Mclaren is their best bet, and Mclaren need two drivers who can score big points in the constructors.