2023 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[Big Tea]

I have to admit I was not that impressed with Oscar, not a lot I can say now other than well done I was wrong.

Keep it going guys

[mwillems]

Now in 5th 12 points ahead of Alpine.

You read it here first. Mika Hakkinen is not on drugs.

What did he know that we didn't?

He came out two or three weeks ago and said that the team that would be up there challenging Red Bull this year would be Mclaren and that we'd be challenging them for the title next year, I think. I haven't re-read it.

https://www.planetsport.com/motorsport/ ... ship-title

[mwillems]

From the initial plan, there's supposed to be another major upgrade post shut down, which was separate from the 25% balance that was slated for Hungary. It was only this week Stella stated that it would be dependent on a few things, else they get pushed to 2024.

If there is one post shutdown, that upgrade is probably already signed off and not under design anymore… I’m all up for more pace from the car!

There will be no significant change of philosophy next year, so anything worked on for next year's can be feed into this car, and vice verse. Its way too early to give up on the Mcl60 now.

You do not stop when your on a roll

There's 3 reasons not to bring the parts to the car after the next major upgrade

The first is that if the car is plain to see one of the fastest on the grid they can care less about the constructors this year, the brand will have taken a boost and that's enough to keep us on track with sponsors and fans.

Second is that the team could fight for one more place in the constructors, but this would come at a financial cost to manufacture the parts. That one place higher would also cost us wind tunnel and CFD allocation, so if the brand is doing well, don't worry about the table, focus on what we need to develop the car as much as possible.

Third is that Ferrari as so far ahead already that it's not guaranteed that paying to manufacture us parts will reap any reward.

Safe bet seems to be just to pump the cash into the design of the 24 car and IF there are any big jumps available then maybe bring them to the car.

This all assumes that the remaining upgrades do keep us competitive. As a team we have demonstrated how you can leap ahead, as Aston Martin already did, before falling behind a little. Let's see if we become the next Aston Martin or if the singapore upgrade is enough to keep us near the front.

[LionsHeart]

By the way, I will note once again the fact that even during the presentation of the car, Stella said that they were unhappy with the aerodynamic efficiency and that this was the weakest point. He also stressed that the positive point is that these problems can be solved. And now we have confirmation. Also, McLaren updated the beam wing and rear wing back in Canada and for the last three race weekends they've been riding with the same rear wing spec, with only minor changes to the Gurney flap.

[mwillems]

By the way, I will note once again the fact that even during the presentation of the car, Stella said that they were unhappy with the aerodynamic efficiency and that this was the weakest point. He also stressed that the positive point is that these problems can be solved. And now we have confirmation. Also, McLaren updated the beam wing and rear wing back in Canada and for the last three race weekends they've been riding with the same rear wing spec, with only minor changes to the Gurney flap.

It is interesting because Toto was describing the Aero efficiency of the Mclaren as being very strong.

COmpared to the Merc perhaps, the target for everyone right now is the RB and that is a different class.

[the EDGE]

There's 2 reasons not to bring the parts to the car.

The first is that if the car is plain to see one of the fastest on the grid they can care less about the constructors this year, the brand will have taken a boost and that's enough to keep us on track with sponsors and fans.

Second is that the team could fight for one more place in the constructors, but this would come at a financial cost to manufacture the parts. That one place higher would also cost us wind tunnel and CFD allocation, so if the brand is doing well, don't worry about the table, focus on what we need to develop the car as much as possible.

I’d fully agree if others were going to sand still too, but they’re not

Merc, Ferrari, Aston & Alpine will all be working away on updates, not to mention the other 4

2nd quickest car today could easily become the 6th, 7th or lower come September, with 9 races to go

Only by improving this car can they have faith in what they are working on for next year

[Ground Effect]

Andrea Stella openly gave credit to Peter Prodromou for his lead on the Aero developments, so I guess that shows Key's last contribution was the Baku upgrade. A couple of years ago, a poster said with confidence that McLaren hired the wrong Peter from Red Bull, that Renault got the better guy in Pete Machin. I never agreed with that. Machin got fired by Renault and last I heard he's back with Alpha Tauri... enough said.

[mwillems]

There's 2 reasons not to bring the parts to the car.

The first is that if the car is plain to see one of the fastest on the grid they can care less about the constructors this year, the brand will have taken a boost and that's enough to keep us on track with sponsors and fans.

Second is that the team could fight for one more place in the constructors, but this would come at a financial cost to manufacture the parts. That one place higher would also cost us wind tunnel and CFD allocation, so if the brand is doing well, don't worry about the table, focus on what we need to develop the car as much as possible.

I’d fully agree if others were going to sand still too, but they’re not

Merc, Ferrari, Aston & Alpine will all be working away on updates, not to mention the other 4

2nd quickest car today could easily become the 6th, 7th or lower come September, with 9 races to go

Only by improving this car can they have faith in what they are working on for next year

You took a while to write that, I'd subsequently added it to say as much, that the third upgrade needs to keep us near the front, that teams can make big jumps... lol

But still, focus has to be the quickest path to a fast car and bringing parts to the track can actually become a hinderance, especially with the new wind tunnel removing the need for some of the on track testing.

[Ground Effect]

There's 2 reasons not to bring the parts to the car.

The first is that if the car is plain to see one of the fastest on the grid they can care less about the constructors this year, the brand will have taken a boost and that's enough to keep us on track with sponsors and fans.

Second is that the team could fight for one more place in the constructors, but this would come at a financial cost to manufacture the parts. That one place higher would also cost us wind tunnel and CFD allocation, so if the brand is doing well, don't worry about the table, focus on what we need to develop the car as much as possible.

I’d fully agree if others were going to sand still too, but they’re not

Merc, Ferrari, Aston & Alpine will all be working away on updates, not to mention the other 4

2nd quickest car today could easily become the 6th, 7th or lower come September, with 9 races to go

Only by improving this car can they have faith in what they are working on for next year

Agreed, but bear in mind Aston brought a major upgrade to Canada, Alpine a new front wing dubbed as "exciting". I think the team started the year way behind and as such were also behind in the development race. It looks like they've caught up and are not standing still either.

[mwillems]

Andrea Stella openly gave credit to Peter Prodromou for his lead on the Aero developments, so I guess that shows Key's last contribution was the Baku upgrade. A couple of years ago, a poster said with confidence that McLaren hired the wrong Peter from Red Bull, that Renault got the better guy in Pete Machin. I never agreed with that. Machin got fired by Renault and last I heard he's back with Alpha Tauri... enough said.

Plus, when has the team ever given him credit?

it's nice to see.

[FittingMechanics]

Great result.

By the way, I think what Oscar did is even more impressive. He was following Lando very closely, only dropping back 2 seconds before the pit stop. Unlucky safety car meant he lost his position to Hamilton. All of this was done without the front wing and without experience of the car after the update. Not to take away from Lando, but this was stellar from Oscar.

I am still very annoyed by the strategy. While I can understand putting Oscar on hards, putting Norris as well meant we put all our eggs in the same "basket" and went against the other teams. This to me is a mistake. Why not follow other teams with Lando since you were given the opportunity. I think they are still in the mindset from the start of the season where they couldn't handle tires but today I think the tire management was fine. Probably because the car is better overall, it is better with tires as well.

[the EDGE]

There's 2 reasons not to bring the parts to the car.

The first is that if the car is plain to see one of the fastest on the grid they can care less about the constructors this year, the brand will have taken a boost and that's enough to keep us on track with sponsors and fans.

Second is that the team could fight for one more place in the constructors, but this would come at a financial cost to manufacture the parts. That one place higher would also cost us wind tunnel and CFD allocation, so if the brand is doing well, don't worry about the table, focus on what we need to develop the car as much as possible.

I’d fully agree if others were going to sand still too, but they’re not

Merc, Ferrari, Aston & Alpine will all be working away on updates, not to mention the other 4

2nd quickest car today could easily become the 6th, 7th or lower come September, with 9 races to go

Only by improving this car can they have faith in what they are working on for next year

You took a while to write that, I'd subsequently added it to say as much, that the third upgrade needs to keep us near the front, that teams can make big jumps... lol

But still, focus has to be the quickest path to a fast car and bringing parts to the track can actually become a hinderance, especially with the new wind tunnel removing the need for some of the on track testing.

lol, I shall learn to type quicker just for you

Yes, but you can work on a new floor for next year, and also put it on this years car. They have a whole production department that aren't going to take a break. Its basically what RB have done, iterations have delivered them results

Agreed, but bear in mind Aston brought a major upgrade to Canada, Alpine a new front wing dubbed as "exciting". I think the team started the year way behind and as such were also behind in the development race. It looks like they've caught up and are not standing still either.

That is a good point, all teams have now had decent upgrades, McLaren's has delivered!

[mwillems]

I’d fully agree if others were going to sand still too, but they’re not

Merc, Ferrari, Aston & Alpine will all be working away on updates, not to mention the other 4

2nd quickest car today could easily become the 6th, 7th or lower come September, with 9 races to go

Only by improving this car can they have faith in what they are working on for next year

You took a while to write that, I'd subsequently added it to say as much, that the third upgrade needs to keep us near the front, that teams can make big jumps... lol

But still, focus has to be the quickest path to a fast car and bringing parts to the track can actually become a hinderance, especially with the new wind tunnel removing the need for some of the on track testing.

lol, I shall learn to type quicker just for you

Yes, but you can work on a new floor for next year, and also put it on this years car. They have a whole production department that aren't going to take a break. Its basically what RB have done, iterations have delivered them results

Agreed, but bear in mind Aston brought a major upgrade to Canada, Alpine a new front wing dubbed as "exciting". I think the team started the year way behind and as such were also behind in the development race. It looks like they've caught up and are not standing still either.

That is a good point, all teams have now had decent upgrades, McLaren's has delivered!

It might be better if I slowed down and wrote clearly in the first place

Yeah but is that the best way to spend the money, if we will struggle to get much higher up the table? If there's little end benefit from making this years car faster after upgrade 3, would it be better to put the money purely to development?

[SmallSoldier]

Great result.

By the way, I think what Oscar did is even more impressive. He was following Lando very closely, only dropping back 2 seconds before the pit stop. Unlucky safety car meant he lost his position to Hamilton. All of this was done without the front wing and without experience of the car after the update. Not to take away from Lando, but this was stellar from Oscar.

I am still very annoyed by the strategy. While I can understand putting Oscar on hards, putting Norris as well meant we put all our eggs in the same "basket" and went against the other teams. This to me is a mistake. Why not follow other teams with Lando since you were given the opportunity. I think they are still in the mindset from the start of the season where they couldn't handle tires but today I think the tire management was fine. Probably because the car is better overall, it is better with tires as well.

It’s interesting that most have a feeling of what the right tire for McLaren was without a pinch of information or data in regards to tire degradation, how fast the car can heat them up (which could end up overheating them… Like the RBR did at one point)… They not only had the information from the long runs on Friday, they also had information from the Mediums that came out of Piastri’s car… For all we know, Lando could have finished 5th if they went for Softs… Why not give the team credit given that the result validates their decision?

[CjC]

Great result.

By the way, I think what Oscar did is even more impressive. He was following Lando very closely, only dropping back 2 seconds before the pit stop. Unlucky safety car meant he lost his position to Hamilton. All of this was done without the front wing and without experience of the car after the update. Not to take away from Lando, but this was stellar from Oscar.

I am still very annoyed by the strategy. While I can understand putting Oscar on hards, putting Norris as well meant we put all our eggs in the same "basket" and went against the other teams. This to me is a mistake. Why not follow other teams with Lando since you were given the opportunity. I think they are still in the mindset from the start of the season where they couldn't handle tires but today I think the tire management was fine. Probably because the car is better overall, it is better with tires as well.

It’s interesting that most have a feeling of what the right tire for McLaren was without a pinch of information or data in regards to tire degradation, how fast the car can heat them up (which could end up overheating them… Like the RBR did at one point)… They not only had the information from the long runs on Friday, they also had information from the Mediums that came out of Piastri’s car… For all we know, Lando could have finished 5th if they went for Softs… Why not give the team credit given that the result validates their decision?

Agreed. I was going to slam them on here right after they fitted hards on Landos car then I thought ‘hang on, let’s see how this plays out’ and it played out fairly well.
The Merc drivers were complimenting the Mclarens speed on the hard tyre, which says it all