2023 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[Slahinki]

4 weeks! 4weeks! Thats a long time.

Will we get some bring back Ron Dennis posts? Some Lando should leave? Car is too slow? Zak should be sacked?

Be careful or you might actually summon them.

[mclaren111]

Every bad day they say here the team is lost. The bad points should be adressed but not reped to death, it´s tiring.
I think today they fell out of there temperatur window (Tires) and Norris can`t put it together, also bacause of the issues in P3.

So that someone also talks about the good things.

Good low speed performance. I don`t think we are that far in the front like this last graph suggest, but in the front area. (This can be seen from last year on, although some here rant about the HUGE alleged understeer problem (sarcasm)).
Visually in my opinion one of the most stable aero platforms from the suspension side.
Very good braking performance.
The car looks on the upperside very much like a Red Bull, which is certainly not terrible this year.
These are things that have been achieved by the team.

Perhaps the only weak point is the floor, which is of course the worst, but can be fixed. And that's exactly what the team has been talking about since the start of the season. And what Aston Martin has done and how tight the field this year is give me hope that a big leap is possible.
I'm not blind to the situation the team is in and i'm disapprove them for it, but i'm not blind to the good things either.
My point of view.

[MrGapes]

Baku is right around the corner now... whilst it will definitely be a improvement on the current package, from what the team have been saying don't expect a massive performance leap...

I suspect this package is the introduction of a new fundamental floor philosophy, it won't be outright performance, but the transition to a different baseline. Andrea has identified two other upgrades, a race before shutdown, and post shutdown, I believe these are the performance upgrades they have derived from within the new philosophy. Andrea mentioned a "kind of b-spec" associated with a race before shutdown which I believe will most probably be Silverstone, I think this is where we will most probably see the major performance leap.

[bauc]

4 weeks! 4weeks! Thats a long time.

Will we get some bring back Ron Dennis posts? Some Lando should leave? Car is too slow? Zak should be sacked?

Facts - Car is slow & Ron Deniss is never coming back to Mclaren F1.
What if's? (Lando can leave or he can stay, I don't see why this should not be discussed here) &
Zak should be sacked or he should remain as CEO (He should leave If he fails to perform, I don't see why there would not be accountability for his position compared to any other position on the team and vice versa.

So yeah, 4 weeks is a long time

[the EDGE]

4 weeks! 4weeks! Thats a long time.

Will we get some bring back Ron Dennis posts? Some Lando should leave? Car is too slow? Zak should be sacked?

Be careful or you might actually summon them.

Oh look..you were right

[vinu.l.t]

I believe they have acknowledged their lack of aero efficiency and it seems they are compensating for this with a larger rear wing which will be draggier even with DRS open. It seems like this new development direction they identified late last year will allow them to produce downforce in a more efficient manner (more DF from the floor) and i'm guessing the rear wing and beam wing design will change to accommodate this. I also believe they identified their poor traction out of slow corners as a key weakness in Bahrain which also compounds the issues related to poor top speed.

[Mansell89]

The person who does give me hope is Andrea Stella. He appears to have an eye for detail, and has not shirked any decisions or accountability anywhere this season.

He seems to have the people skills to go with it in terms of balancing encouragement and challenge from the short clips and info we see, so I’m hoping that these tough decisions taken early, the call out of the shortcomings, and the re positioning of technical talent can begin to reap the rewards of improved infrastructure.

[trinidefender]

4 weeks! 4weeks! Thats a long time.

Will we get some bring back Ron Dennis posts? Some Lando should leave? Car is too slow? Zak should be sacked?

Facts - Car is slow & Ron Deniss is never coming back to Mclaren F1.
What if's? (Lando can leave or he can stay, I don't see why this should not be discussed here) &
Zak should be sacked or he should remain as CEO (He should leave If he fails to perform, I don't see why there would not be accountability for his position compared to any other position on the team and vice versa.

So yeah, 4 weeks is a long time

Whatever you think of Zak I think he is doing his job quite well. Yes, technically, he is at the head of the hierarchy tree. But it's a tree that extends to ALL of McLaren racing, not just F1. In that capacity I would say he's doing quite well considering how Indy and McLaren's other racing programs are going.

Secondly and probably more pertinent when it comes to F1 is the fact that he regularly admits that he is in almost no way involved in car design or development. He is a sponsor/money man. On that front can anyone really argue that he hasn't done a good job? He's almost completely turned McLaren racings finances around, during COVID no less when things were VERY precarious, and got the funding in place for major infrastructure projects which can only be a good thing. All a far cry from the end of the Ron Dennis Boullier era. For those with a short memory when Jost Capito was briefly at McLaren some years ago he put in major recommendations for infrastructure upgrades that were mostly refused. Some sources credit this as one of the reasons that the relationship broke down which resulted in him leaving early. For comparison sake, Zak Brown got the ball rolling and ensured that these projects go the green light.

If I see Zak go I'll be very sad.
As for Andrea, only time will tell.

[bauc]

4 weeks! 4weeks! Thats a long time.

Will we get some bring back Ron Dennis posts? Some Lando should leave? Car is too slow? Zak should be sacked?

Facts - Car is slow & Ron Deniss is never coming back to Mclaren F1.
What if's? (Lando can leave or he can stay, I don't see why this should not be discussed here) &
Zak should be sacked or he should remain as CEO (He should leave If he fails to perform, I don't see why there would not be accountability for his position compared to any other position on the team and vice versa.

So yeah, 4 weeks is a long time

Whatever you think of Zak I think he is doing his job quite well. Yes, technically, he is at the head of the hierarchy tree. But it's a tree that extends to ALL of McLaren racing, not just F1. In that capacity I would say he's doing quite well considering how Indy and McLaren's other racing programs are going.

Secondly and probably more pertinent when it comes to F1 is the fact that he regularly admits that he is in almost no way involved in car design or development. He is a sponsor/money man. On that front can anyone really argue that he hasn't done a good job? He's almost completely turned McLaren racings finances around, during COVID no less when things were VERY precarious, and got the funding in place for major infrastructure projects which can only be a good thing. All a far cry from the end of the Ron Dennis Boullier era. For those with a short memory when Jost Capito was briefly at McLaren some years ago he put in major recommendations for infrastructure upgrades that were mostly refused. Some sources credit this as one of the reasons that the relationship broke down which resulted in him leaving early. For comparison sake, Zak Brown got the ball rolling and ensured that these projects go the green light.

If I see Zak go I'll be very sad.
As for Andrea, only time will tell.

I'm not saying Zak is doing a bad job, in contrary I also think he is still doing ok, not great but OK.

However, few people here think that we should not even discuss/critic his performance like is not a key part of the puzzle. Everyone in the team is an employee, and as such they are open to performance evaluation, I don't see a reason why Zak, regardless of his position in the team should be excluded from citric of fans/investors/board of directors or whoever else wanting his replacement, if they think he is not doing a good job.

People need to learn to give constructive critic but also accept one!

[Ground Effect]

Facts - Car is slow & Ron Deniss is never coming back to Mclaren F1.
What if's? (Lando can leave or he can stay, I don't see why this should not be discussed here) &
Zak should be sacked or he should remain as CEO (He should leave If he fails to perform, I don't see why there would not be accountability for his position compared to any other position on the team and vice versa.

So yeah, 4 weeks is a long time

Whatever you think of Zak I think he is doing his job quite well. Yes, technically, he is at the head of the hierarchy tree. But it's a tree that extends to ALL of McLaren racing, not just F1. In that capacity I would say he's doing quite well considering how Indy and McLaren's other racing programs are going.

Secondly and probably more pertinent when it comes to F1 is the fact that he regularly admits that he is in almost no way involved in car design or development. He is a sponsor/money man. On that front can anyone really argue that he hasn't done a good job? He's almost completely turned McLaren racings finances around, during COVID no less when things were VERY precarious, and got the funding in place for major infrastructure projects which can only be a good thing. All a far cry from the end of the Ron Dennis Boullier era. For those with a short memory when Jost Capito was briefly at McLaren some years ago he put in major recommendations for infrastructure upgrades that were mostly refused. Some sources credit this as one of the reasons that the relationship broke down which resulted in him leaving early. For comparison sake, Zak Brown got the ball rolling and ensured that these projects go the green light.

If I see Zak go I'll be very sad.
As for Andrea, only time will tell.

I'm not saying Zak is doing a bad job, in contrary I also think he is still doing ok, not great but OK.

However, few people here think that we should not even discuss/critic his performance like is not a key part of the puzzle. Everyone in the team is an employee, and as such they are open to performance evaluation, I don't see a reason why Zak, regardless of his position in the team should be excluded from citric of fans/investors/board of directors or whoever else wanting his replacement, if they think he is not doing a good job.

People need to learn to give constructive critic but also accept one!

If we're honest, we'd score him very high for the job he's done so far. I remember when a new sponsor was revealed, this place was like a party atmosphere. From Ron's black empty car, to one sponsored by BAT, google, Cisco, Coca Cola etc. Also people can change history, as is common these days, but who honestly wasn't excited when we signed Ricciardo, even James Key. Dennis fell out with long time sponsors, who he should have kept and are still on the grid, like Mobil and Tag Heuer. A lot of people don't know this, but Dennis tried and failed to get a new wind tunnel, he didn't get approval from the local council. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was due to it being an outrageous building plan, instead of something practical. Zak hasn't run from the things that didn't work out, like Renault, Key, Ricciardo etc. He took action, instead of being to proud to look like he got it wrong. It was also genius to let Seidl go immediately when the chance came. Personally, I'd score him very high marks as someone at the top in a non technical capacity. Every decision he took made perfect sense at the time, those that didn't work out, got axed or replaced.

[continuum16]

You know it's not the first time Haas has protested a result. Sounds to me like sore losers.

It's their job to do so

Exactly. Also, McLaren would have come away with more points as well, 5th and 6th would have been better than 6th and 8th. Then the team would have less than 10 points behind Ferrari(!). But just like COTA last year Haas' protest was dismissed because the FIA didn't feel like taking the necessary steps to apply its rulebook 100% as intended or with consistency.

Given the shocking state of affairs behind the current big 3 of RB/AM/Merc, I'll admit that P4 might not be totally unrealistic in the end, despite my earlier doubts.

[haza]

With key out can we expect a different approach in updates and design towards the end of the season I know some of the upgrades have already been signed off an planned for a certain gp but with him out can we expect a more radical approach towards car design an updates i liked James key but I always thought he was a tad conservative on design an never really went bold in concept

[CjC]

Whatever you think of Zak I think he is doing his job quite well. Yes, technically, he is at the head of the hierarchy tree. But it's a tree that extends to ALL of McLaren racing, not just F1. In that capacity I would say he's doing quite well considering how Indy and McLaren's other racing programs are going.

Secondly and probably more pertinent when it comes to F1 is the fact that he regularly admits that he is in almost no way involved in car design or development. He is a sponsor/money man. On that front can anyone really argue that he hasn't done a good job? He's almost completely turned McLaren racings finances around, during COVID no less when things were VERY precarious, and got the funding in place for major infrastructure projects which can only be a good thing. All a far cry from the end of the Ron Dennis Boullier era. For those with a short memory when Jost Capito was briefly at McLaren some years ago he put in major recommendations for infrastructure upgrades that were mostly refused. Some sources credit this as one of the reasons that the relationship broke down which resulted in him leaving early. For comparison sake, Zak Brown got the ball rolling and ensured that these projects go the green light.

If I see Zak go I'll be very sad.
As for Andrea, only time will tell.

I'm not saying Zak is doing a bad job, in contrary I also think he is still doing ok, not great but OK.

However, few people here think that we should not even discuss/critic his performance like is not a key part of the puzzle. Everyone in the team is an employee, and as such they are open to performance evaluation, I don't see a reason why Zak, regardless of his position in the team should be excluded from citric of fans/investors/board of directors or whoever else wanting his replacement, if they think he is not doing a good job.

People need to learn to give constructive critic but also accept one!

If we're honest, we'd score him very high for the job he's done so far. I remember when a new sponsor was revealed, this place was like a party atmosphere. From Ron's black empty car, to one sponsored by BAT, google, Cisco, Coca Cola etc. Also people can change history, as is common these days, but who honestly wasn't excited when we signed Ricciardo, even James Key. Dennis fell out with long time sponsors, who he should have kept and are still on the grid, like Mobil and Tag Heuer. A lot of people don't know this, but Dennis tried and failed to get a new wind tunnel, he didn't get approval from the local council. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was due to it being an outrageous building plan, instead of something practical. Zak hasn't run from the things that didn't work out, like Renault, Key, Ricciardo etc. He took action, instead of being to proud to look like he got it wrong. It was also genius to let Seidl go immediately when the chance came. Personally, I'd score him very high marks as someone at the top in a non technical capacity. Every decision he took made perfect sense at the time, those that didn't work out, got axed or replaced.

100% agree about Zak. Also don’t forget he’s a Mclaren fan too so he only has the best intentions for the team

[Zynerji]

What's James Allison doing these days?

[Lucky]

What's James Allison doing these days?

Former Mercedes technical director James Allison has returned to the technical group to work on the W14, Italian Motorsport reports.