2022 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[continuum16]

Imagine hiring a top tier driver and destroying his abilities by creating a car that's horrible in low speed. Ridiculous.

That's the idea of hiring top drivers, they are supposed to be able to handle things like that or they could have taken a novice.

Agree 100%

Imagine hiring a top tier driver only to discover that he’s actually not capable of adapting to your car concept and gets outperformed in nearly every statistical category by someone who has only been in the sport for 2 years. Could’ve put $25 million more towards the wind tunnel improvements.

[Emag]

Imagine hiring a top tier driver and destroying his abilities by creating a car that's horrible in low speed. Ridiculous.

That's the idea of hiring top drivers, they are supposed to be able to handle things like that or they could have taken a novice.

Agree 100%

Imagine hiring a top tier driver only to discover that he’s actually not capable of adapting to your car concept and gets outperformed in nearly every statistical category by someone who has only been in the sport for 2 years. Could’ve put $25 million more towards the wind tunnel improvements.

I wonder if sympathy for Daniel is running out in the team. Normally when an average co-worker is struggling you tend to feel bad and help them.

But in this case the co-worker is taking millions of dollars while under-achieving. Surely it must not feel good knowing the team could be getting the same results with a cheaper driver and use the extra money to reward the rest of the team.

[proteus]

I think mclaren have realised it's another dead season. They are making Daniel look bad to justify his exit. It's all about youth now

No, i think aliens are to blame. There were strange lights over Woking during off season. I bet some engineers were abducted and that is the reason for everything. Must have been aliens!

[JPower]

That's the idea of hiring top drivers, they are supposed to be able to handle things like that or they could have taken a novice.

Agree 100%

Imagine hiring a top tier driver only to discover that he’s actually not capable of adapting to your car concept and gets outperformed in nearly every statistical category by someone who has only been in the sport for 2 years. Could’ve put $25 million more towards the wind tunnel improvements.

I wonder if sympathy for Daniel is running out in the team. Normally when an average co-worker is struggling you tend to feel bad and help them.

But in this case the co-worker is taking millions of dollars while under-achieving. Surely it must not feel good knowing the team could be getting the same results with a cheaper driver and use the extra money to reward the rest of the team.

You think that's where the money would go?

[Emag]

It obviously wouldn't, but it kind of feels the same as having a bad CEO on your company. Wouldn't you feel like money that could be yours is going to waste if you learned he was making millions for doing a shitty job?

[billamend]

https://streamja.com/JGXa3

[JPower]

It obviously wouldn't, but it kind of feels the same as having a bad CEO on your company. Wouldn't you feel like money that could be yours is going to waste if you learned he was making millions for doing a shitty job?

DR probably brings in enough in merch sales and brand visibility alone to justify his seat at the moment.

I don't think his salary is the big issue here, just his on track performance.

I'm curious to know what the exact issue affecting his performance this year vs last year. Can't imagine the cars drive that similarly.

[kfrantzios]

It obviously wouldn't, but it kind of feels the same as having a bad CEO on your company. Wouldn't you feel like money that could be yours is going to waste if you learned he was making millions for doing a shitty job?

DR probably brings in enough in merch sales and brand visibility alone to justify his seat at the moment.

I don't think his salary is the big issue here, just his on track performance.

I'm curious to know what the exact issue affecting his performance this year vs last year. Can't imagine the cars drive that similarly.

I guess its that "McLaren DNA" which probably is very different to most of the other cars. Is it aero philosophy? Is it mechanical philosophy? I don't know. I know Key is a mechanical guy. Not an aerodynamicist. I cant tell if the car lacks in any particular point or its just the sum of all parts that is slow. Probably we are just infrastructure limited.

[billamend]

[runningmanz]

Yeah Dan brings enough to the team overall still to justify his position imo and has that magnetic personality as well that helps, I mean even Marko loved him lol. Sounds like Zak would still accept if Dan doesn't beat Lando given he says Lando is now one of the best drivers in the world. He also referred to gaps between other teammates like Charles and Carlos or Max and Sergio. It may be that Dan just ends up accepting a kind of number 2 role like Perez or Bottas when he was at Merc, although I don't think McLaren are that kind of team like RBR or Ferrari have been though. It remains to be seen though beyond Dan's current deal what happens. If he ends up mostly being in Lando's shadow for the rest of his contract they might look at O'Ward or Herta when the current contract runs out.That too though could depend on if Andretti gets a team up and running.

Having said that I still haven't written Dan off. Still time for him to find his mojo and get more comfortable in the car. There has been times already this year like in Jeddah and Oz he looked faster than Lando for good portions of the race and even in qualli's like Imola and Miami. He also did beat Lando first race in Bahrain. Hoping he can get back to the Daniel we all know and have admired in the past and bring back some of those exciting drives again.

[Swed3120]

Really interesting interview from brown there, maybe I’m reading into this too much but they way he points to how hard RB are/where on their drivers and that „he doesn’t do that“ tells me internally, things aren’t far away from a gasly at RB type situation , not in terms of a mid season swap , but more of a; the team has tried everything and nothing seems to work so they’re getting tired of being empathetic toward Daniel

Like when you have a co-worker who doesn’t pull their own weight and at first you try and help but after a while you get tired of their issues and stop helping as much as you possibly could.

[billamend]

I think this weekend was the breaking point. One driver sick, and the other did nothing to compensate. When everyone is tired, and the most expensive employee brings nothing to the table, it gets tiresome.

[runningmanz]

I think with Gasly though he was getting smashed by Max on pace and the scoreboard. This season apart from last race Dan hasn't been smashed by Lando and been unlucky a few times. In races overall he has been close on pace with Lando and arguably faster some races like Bahrain, Australia and Jeddah. You have to wonder how things would look if he got that last run in Imola or didn't tangle with Carlos and finished close or beat Lando there, that was the only big points gone begging so far.

Unfortunately with the disappointing last season added on the pressure is mounting. He just seems to struggle at times with low mechanical grip, because we saw at Monaco for example what a beast he can be with the right car. He needs to start showing something soon though or he is going to end up being Landos number two or get pressure to take a pay cut or leave which would be quite sad given the heights he has hit previously in his career.

[aran.vtec]

If anyone wants to understand Daniels performance woes they need to listen to the gypsy tales podcast you can see and hear his passion isn't in the sport anymore,

[mclaren111]

I think mclaren have realised it's another dead season. They are making Daniel look bad to justify his exit. It's all about youth now

No, i think aliens are to blame. There were strange lights over Woking during off season. I bet some engineers were abducted and that is the reason for everything. Must have been aliens!