2023 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[djos]

Like I said after qually, Oscar is a master of precision driving.

[Ground Effect]

Where are the journalist asking the hard questions. What if other teams bring upgrades worth a few tenths as well.

I think teams understand other teams will bring upgrades as well. Talk of improvement probably means few tenths compared to other teams.

You don't think that part of McLaren's problem, when compared to AMR, is that AMR goes out and get's the best aero guys out there and McLaren just settle for AMR's scraps?

I don't think it's as simple as that, same could have been said of Prodromou, Machin etc. It's one thing to arrive with a head full of ideas from the best team, another to build on it. Not saying they won't go on to deliver, but this idea of McLaren ending with AMR's scraps is a bit silly. McLaren have said they lack the numbers currently to be effective and efficient.

[FittingMechanics]

Btw I don't think it was clear in the race, but I believe Lando let Piastri through at the end because the Piastri let Lando through earlier. It was done in previous years as well, if a teammate has better tyres or thinks he is faster, team instructs the other driver to let teammate through. If there is no gains they switch back at the end.

Regardless of that, impressive driving by Piastri.

[mwillems]

When in clear air, the team had decent pace. Definitely TOP 10. But with the amount of downforce/drag/deployment strategy they could not overtake.

It would be a different story if Norris did not crash in qualifying and if Piastri/Norris did not get damage on lap 1.

Our car cannot produce enough downforce by the floor thats why we have to run with extremely big rear wing with which we are slow in the straight even with DRS. Sad story. Lets hope Baku package will bring something better.

We were running with more downforce and were carrying more pace in the corners than many other cars.

Our setup guys decided the fastest lap was to carry more DF. Perhaps that is a mistake, but the car would carry more top speed were they to have gone with a different setup and still have a downforce relative to the average of the field.

The problem with the strategy is that the moment you get pushed back for any reason, you are not going to make that time back up as you will sit behind people.

The car is certainly not fast in a straight line, but it is not slow also, and certainly not a brick, your slower driver doesn't qualify 9th with a brick, that is just utter trolling nonsense.

[Lucky]

[BMMR61]

Thanks guys for chiming in with some good insights, we all can do with less whining and more nuance. It was a tough day in the office for everyone but there’s some good lessons learned I’m sure, by the team. And here we can all now be sure we have two extraordinary drivers who are working for the team without flinching. Without overlooking the talent and growing maturity of Lando, we have every bit the future star in Oscar as well - an old head on young shoulders! I’m going to continue to back this team to climb out of the current hole regardless of the appalling luck yesterday.

[bauc]

2 weekends to forget, our season will start in Melbourne (hopefully)

[Mostlyeels]

I am a bit confused about the upcoming Baku upgrade.

The consensus is that the current aero philosophy was abandoned 5 months ago when the team were going down a dead end. However i've also read that the update for Baku is probably going to be worth a few tenths. Granted the midfield battle is so tight that a few tenths puts you much more comfortably into the top 10....my question is if the current concept was abandoned so long ago shouldn't the expected gains be more than a few tenths?

Unluckily there is no “magic bullet” in order to gain performance / lap time… Performance in an F1 car from roughly 3 factors:

Aerodynamics / Downforce efficiency
Suspension
Chassis (COG, Weight)

They all have to work together in order to provide lap time, The MCL60 already has received improvements in the Suspension and Chassis… We can see this in the lap times and the improvement year over year, even though they are using the same front wing and the same floor edge treatment as in 2022… So further improvement will simply come from the aero portion of the package (arguably the most important part).

Good point re the floor edge (probably the most visible part of the floor for us). I haven't been following all the types very closely, but it'll be interesting to see how this changes in their upgrade package.

The MCL60 looks better at riding the kerbs than last year to me. Not as stiff?

[Mostlyeels]

When in clear air, the team had decent pace. Definitely TOP 10. But with the amount of downforce/drag/deployment strategy they could not overtake.

It would be a different story if Norris did not crash in qualifying and if Piastri/Norris did not get damage on lap 1.

Our car cannot produce enough downforce by the floor thats why we have to run with extremely big rear wing with which we are slow in the straight even with DRS. Sad story. Lets hope Baku package will bring something better.

We were running with more downforce and were carrying more pace in the corners than many other cars.

Our setup guys decided the fastest lap was to carry more DF. Perhaps that is a mistake, but the car would carry more top speed were they to have gone with a different setup and still have a downforce relative to the average of the field.

That seemed to be the compromise: carry more DF for the corners, limit yourself on top speed. But I would've anticipated a higher DF rear wing would've been more effective at top speed when the flap opened (losing more drag compared to a lower DF wing)?

The problem with the strategy is that the moment you get pushed back for any reason, you are not going to make that time back up as you will sit behind people.

The DRS train seemed super-strong last weekend, unless you were RB and had ridiculous top speed with the flap open. Maybe the zones were a bit long? I'd hoped we'd be stronger in the corners than the Williams.

[senseni34]

2 weekends to forget, our season will start in Melbourne (hopefully)

Hopefully have a normal weekend with no mistakes from drivers/team.

[bauc]

2 weekends to forget, our season will start in Melbourne (hopefully)

Hopefully have a normal weekend with no mistakes from drivers/team.

Amen for that, we are due for a normal race in Mclaren's favor

[Mostlyeels]

2 weekends to forget, our season will start in Melbourne (hopefully)

Hopefully have a normal weekend with no mistakes from drivers/team.

Amen for that, we are due for a normal race in Mclaren's favor

Seconded!

[Szabi1112]

2 weekends to forget, our season will start in Melbourne (hopefully)

Hopefully have a normal weekend with no mistakes from drivers/team.

Amen for that, we are due for a normal race in Mclaren's favor

Or it will turn out that we are the weakest teem indeed

[Slahinki]

Hopefully have a normal weekend with no mistakes from drivers/team.

Amen for that, we are due for a normal race in Mclaren's favor

Or it will turn out that we are the weakest teem indeed

Well, if that turns out to be the case, which I personally don't think, then at least the only way is up!

[Mclarenfanboy]

Have we ever been rock bottom in the standings at the end of the year, or 2015 ninth place was the worst... I can t remember...