2022 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[djos]

Lando is talented AF, that much is clear.

If previous Macca's had this front end deficiency, and the new Pirelli front tires made this worse, then logically the issue if not fully addressed, then the problem would compound. IMO, Lando's comments support my speculation, as the MCL36 was overall worse than the MCL35M (compared to the competition).

Okay. We know the car is bang average to mediocre, and we know sort of why (Lando says it has no front end), but none of this is really what I was trying to have a discussion about.

As I said previously, I only said that Piastri should aim to match or beat Lando by the 2nd year, but should try like mad to be on point from the get-go. This will give his career the most options if you ask me. None of this depends on how fast or slow the Mclaren is because he can't control that. If someone is out there doing something better than you with no front end, then there's something to do better. I suspect Piastri will be much closer to Norris than previous teammates (or at least I hope so....).

We all want both drivers to be competitive - and McLaren needs to make sure they both have a good car. It sounds to me like Lando is getting frustrated that the front end hasnt been addressed.

Hopefully Oscar is able to adapt as well as Lando already has, but the onus is on McLaren to give their drivers a car that can perform at a consistently high level.

[MrGapes]

This guy until recently worked in the Mclaren Aero department. He responded to a tweet that talked about Aston Martins future plans:

If they have a new tunnel to start in August 2024, the car for 2026 will only be developed there. Unless in August 2024 there is to be a switch from the old to the new one after correlation tests of the new tunnel? Then it's already quite late in the development of cars for 2025 will be ... 1/2

Also, teams have to declare use of the wind tunnel for the whole year so after this article I have more questions than answers about Aston's plans. 2/2

Rather verifies what me and MWilliems were discussing before about teams having to declare the wind tunnel they will use over the season.

[MrGapes]

This guy until recently worked in the Mclaren Aero department. He responded to a tweet that talked about Aston Martins future plans:

If they have a new tunnel to start in August 2024, the car for 2026 will only be developed there. Unless in August 2024 there is to be a switch from the old to the new one after correlation tests of the new tunnel? Then it's already quite late in the development of cars for 2025 will be ... 1/2

Also, teams have to declare use of the wind tunnel for the whole year so after this article I have more questions than answers about Aston's plans. 2/2

Rather verifies what me and MWilliems were discussing before about teams having to declare the wind tunnel they will use over the season.

There is more within that tweet thread: that teams could make a switch mid season as the FIA are usually quite lenient with things like this...(with the FIA discretion - as written in the regulations), obviously its speculative thinking, but with the perspective of someone that actually worked in the industry.

[mwillems]

This guy until recently worked in the Mclaren Aero department. He responded to a tweet that talked about Aston Martins future plans:

If they have a new tunnel to start in August 2024, the car for 2026 will only be developed there. Unless in August 2024 there is to be a switch from the old to the new one after correlation tests of the new tunnel? Then it's already quite late in the development of cars for 2025 will be ... 1/2

Also, teams have to declare use of the wind tunnel for the whole year so after this article I have more questions than answers about Aston's plans. 2/2

Rather verifies what me and MWilliems were discussing before about teams having to declare the wind tunnel they will use over the season.

There is more within that tweet thread: that teams could make a switch mid season as the FIA are usually quite lenient with things like this...(with the FIA discretion - as written in the regulations), obviously its speculative thinking, but with the perspective of someone that actually worked in the industry.

It would be nice to be able to switch over, for sure. To be fair I'd imagine the rule is there only to ensure that any tunnel used has the required equipment and processes so as to assure the FIA of proper wind tunnel governance, and not to stop any development benefit other than sneaking in extra time.

So perhaps we can just swap over once the FIA are assured that the tunnel is compliant?

[diffuser]

So does every other backmarker-esque midfield team . It's not an excuse to be so far behind a teammate though. I would hope Piastri can be close to Norris. F1s new talent pool is looking a bit barren outside of the likes of norris, ver, lec, russ.

According to Carlos who has driven AT's, Renault's and McLaren's, the McLaren's are unique in their handling traits. So stop making excuses - even Lando seems to be sick of them not resolving this long-standing issue!

I hope I haven't confused. I certainly don't intend to make any excuses for any driver . Quite the opposite actually. I'd like to cut away at making excuses for drivers in midfield cars. Great drivers find a way to look great in mediocre cars. Russell did it. Alonso did it and I believe Piastri can do it as well and that Mclaren have already figured it out from his testing in Barcelona from which there have been no concerning noises.

I think you're trying to read too much into that test. He probably still hasn't master the steering wheel and the buttons being different from Alpine.

[AR3-GP]

According to Carlos who has driven AT's, Renault's and McLaren's, the McLaren's are unique in their handling traits. So stop making excuses - even Lando seems to be sick of them not resolving this long-standing issue!

I hope I haven't confused. I certainly don't intend to make any excuses for any driver . Quite the opposite actually. I'd like to cut away at making excuses for drivers in midfield cars. Great drivers find a way to look great in mediocre cars. Russell did it. Alonso did it and I believe Piastri can do it as well and that Mclaren have already figured it out from his testing in Barcelona from which there have been no concerning noises.

I think you're trying to read too much into that test. He probably still hasn't master the steering wheel and the buttons being different from Alpine.

Piastri will already have been on the simulator to learn the steering controls long before the real world test. This is a very professional industry.

[diffuser]

I hope I haven't confused. I certainly don't intend to make any excuses for any driver . Quite the opposite actually. I'd like to cut away at making excuses for drivers in midfield cars. Great drivers find a way to look great in mediocre cars. Russell did it. Alonso did it and I believe Piastri can do it as well and that Mclaren have already figured it out from his testing in Barcelona from which there have been no concerning noises.

I think you're trying to read too much into that test. He probably still hasn't master the steering wheel and the buttons being different from Alpine.

Piastri will already have been on the simulator to learn the steering controls long before the real world test. This is a very professional industry.

Really When ? He was released from Alpine on November 22nd.

Whatever, I'm not gonna belabour this point. We'll find out next year. I'm not gonna try and guess if he's gonna be good or bad or make assumption that he's good cause of what I did or didn't hear. The truth is if he's as good as Lando, he'll have around the same points as Ricciardo had this year. Lando had half the point that Sainz had his first year. So that's really what I'm expecting based on past precedent. We really will not know how good he is till the 2nd year. It's very rare that a rookie driver jumps into a seat like McLaren's and are on it from the get go.

[AR3-GP]

I think you're trying to read too much into that test. He probably still hasn't master the steering wheel and the buttons being different from Alpine.

Piastri will already have been on the simulator to learn the steering controls long before the real world test. This is a very professional industry.

Really When ? He was released from Alpine on November 22nd.

Piastri already tested a Mclaren at Paul Riciard in the beginning of November. French sources: https://www.autohebdo.fr/actualites/f1/ ... ellet.html

I'm not sure what you find so unbelievable. These teams will use every window of opportunity to their advantage. You think Piastri just showed up at Barcelona and the Abu Dhabi test with no preparation?

Mclaren already know where he is because of Barcelona and Abu Dhabi. It's a fast moving world. He will have learned the steering controls long ago. Piastri has already had the equivalent of next seasons pre-season test driving around in a Mclaren (old gen or and current gen). It would be naive to think Mclaren have not already made an assessment of his level. Keep in mind that Piastri also did quite a bit of mileage driving the last gen Alpine as well. He has more than enough mileage to be able to focus on performance.

[PhillipM]

It would be nice to be able to switch over, for sure. To be fair I'd imagine the rule is there only to ensure that any tunnel used has the required equipment and processes so as to assure the FIA of proper wind tunnel governance, and not to stop any development benefit other than sneaking in extra time.

So perhaps we can just swap over once the FIA are assured that the tunnel is compliant?

it's mainly for monitoring and compliance and to make sure teams don't keep switching tunnels to game checks. Mclaren have already cleared this with the FIA and other teams they can switch as soon as they're ready. They just need to make sure it's 100% because then they can't switch back if they need to without issues.

[diffuser]

Piastri will already have been on the simulator to learn the steering controls long before the real world test. This is a very professional industry.

Really When ? He was released from Alpine on November 22nd.

Piastri already tested a Mclaren at Paul Riciard in the beginning of November. French sources: https://www.autohebdo.fr/actualites/f1/ ... ellet.html

I'm not sure what you find so unbelievable. These teams will use every window of opportunity to their advantage. You think Piastri just showed up at Barcelona and the Abu Dhabi test with no preparation?

Mclaren already know where he is because of Barcelona and Abu Dhabi. It's a fast moving world. He will have learned the steering controls long ago. Piastri has already had the equivalent of next seasons pre-season test driving around in a Mclaren (old gen or and current gen). It would be naive to think Mclaren have not already made an assessment of his level. Keep in mind that Piastri also did quite a bit of mileage driving the last gen Alpine as well. He has more than enough mileage to be able to focus on performance.

Remember Alonso, a few races after he rejoined Alpine, he had the modify the steering. I forgot exactly what they needed to change but he wasn't getting the feed back that he wanted from the steering wheel. He did a ton of Sim before as well but hadn't pick that up.

[djos]

This guy until recently worked in the Mclaren Aero department. He responded to a tweet that talked about Aston Martins future plans:

If they have a new tunnel to start in August 2024, the car for 2026 will only be developed there. Unless in August 2024 there is to be a switch from the old to the new one after correlation tests of the new tunnel? Then it's already quite late in the development of cars for 2025 will be ... 1/2

Also, teams have to declare use of the wind tunnel for the whole year so after this article I have more questions than answers about Aston's plans. 2/2

Rather verifies what me and MWilliems were discussing before about teams having to declare the wind tunnel they will use over the season.

There is more within that tweet thread: that teams could make a switch mid season as the FIA are usually quite lenient with things like this...(with the FIA discretion - as written in the regulations), obviously its speculative thinking, but with the perspective of someone that actually worked in the industry.

It would be nice to be able to switch over, for sure. To be fair I'd imagine the rule is there only to ensure that any tunnel used has the required equipment and processes so as to assure the FIA of proper wind tunnel governance, and not to stop any development benefit other than sneaking in extra time.

So perhaps we can just swap over once the FIA are assured that the tunnel is compliant?

I imagine the FIA authorisation is required to ensure the tunnel complied with their regs. Eg 60% size, no rolling road etc.

[the EDGE]

Does anyone know how many FIA Super licence points Palou has?

I thought he didn’t qualify to be in F1 yet?

[djos]

Does anyone know how many FIA Super licence points Palou has?

I thought he didn’t qualify to be in F1 yet?

IndyCar drivers get a raw deal from the FIA, so he can probably only run in test sessions due to not having enough points.

[the EDGE]

There is more within that tweet thread: that teams could make a switch mid season as the FIA are usually quite lenient with things like this...(with the FIA discretion - as written in the regulations), obviously its speculative thinking, but with the perspective of someone that actually worked in the industry.

It would be nice to be able to switch over, for sure. To be fair I'd imagine the rule is there only to ensure that any tunnel used has the required equipment and processes so as to assure the FIA of proper wind tunnel governance, and not to stop any development benefit other than sneaking in extra time.

So perhaps we can just swap over once the FIA are assured that the tunnel is compliant?

I imagine the FIA authorisation is required to ensure the tunnel complied with their regs. Eg 60% size, no rolling road etc.

They are allowed, and do have rolling roads

[Ground Effect]

Does anyone know how many FIA Super licence points Palou has?

I thought he didn’t qualify to be in F1 yet?

If I’m not mistaken, he does have enough points.

EDIT: Yes, he does.

Last weekend Palou made his Formula 1 practice debut with McLaren at the United States Grand Prix, and the Spaniard confirmed he possesses a superlicence which means he could be called upon to race in F1.

https://www.racefans.net/2022/10/27/pal ... r-drivers/