2023 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[Emag]

I think this is the best mid season turnaround by any team since McLaren 2009 (though this car would need to win first)

That car's first win was at Hungary......

Crazy that a win here tomorrow doesn't even seem that farfetched with some good luck on our side.
The pace on mediums was really really great by Lando on the long runs yesterday in FP2. Discount the laps blocked by Lance Stroll, he was pretty much on Max's pace.

But at the same time, it can go like it went in 2021 too, so trying to keep excitement level down.

[Slahinki]

Would be such a twist of fates if it were McLaren that prevented Red Bull from getting that 12th win in a row.

[FittingMechanics]

Norris frustrated Hungaroring is a track where it is hard to overtake. Seems he thinks he can fight with the cars ahead.

Should be fun race tomorrow.

[LionsHeart]

I think this is the best mid season turnaround by any team since McLaren 2009 (though this car would need to win first)

That car's first win was at Hungary......

If Lando wins here, it will be symbolic. He first got behind the wheel of a McLaren here at the Hungaroring during testing during the season in 2017. I remember that the team appreciated Lando's ride as a beginner very well.

[chrisc90]

Norris frustrated Hungaroring is a track where it is hard to overtake. Seems he thinks he can fight with the cars ahead.

Should be fun race tomorrow.

Not sure where Lando is getting that from. 2022 proved there was plenty of overtakes.

This thread on reddit details them and some comparisons to others.
https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comme ... akes_data/

[FittingMechanics]

Verstappen colliding with a backmarker to crash out of the race would be truly historic.

But McLaren victory is much more enjoyable.

[mwillems]

Norris frustrated Hungaroring is a track where it is hard to overtake. Seems he thinks he can fight with the cars ahead.

Should be fun race tomorrow.

He'd struggle to get past an RB anyway, but there is always strategy, if we can keep close to the Bulls then we can put the pressure on them and see who blinks first, and who gets the luck.

Of course, there is always the start, if we make progress and get track position then we are in with a shout, but the RB has the pace to overtake with DRS, easily. Maybe we will see some tasty battles between the Mclarens and Red Bull tomorrow. Ham v Nor was especially dramatic to watch at Sil, very big elbows against Hamilton. Verstappen has nothing to gain by being aggressive with Norris though, and they are mates, so likely it would be very amicable.

[SmallSoldier]

Norris frustrated Hungaroring is a track where it is hard to overtake. Seems he thinks he can fight with the cars ahead.

Should be fun race tomorrow.

I believe that his comment was more in regards to starting at the front and been able to maintain that position during the race

[SmallSoldier]

Norris frustrated Hungaroring is a track where it is hard to overtake. Seems he thinks he can fight with the cars ahead.

Should be fun race tomorrow.

He'd struggle to get past an RB anyway, but there is always strategy, if we can keep close to the Bulls then we can put the pressure on them and see who blinks first, and who gets the luck.

Of course, there is always the start, if we make progress and get track position then we are in with a shout, but the RB has the pace to overtake with DRS, easily. Maybe we will see some tasty battles between the Mclarens and Red Bull tomorrow. Ham v Nor was especially dramatic to watch at Sil, very big elbows against Hamilton. Verstappen has nothing to gain by being aggressive with Norris though, and they are mates, so likely it would be very amicable.

The hardest task tomorrow will be for the strategy Team… Between a potential 2 stopper, a risky though aggressive strategy could reap reward.

The biggest advantage for McLaren in the race is the fact that out of top 3, they are the only ones with 2 cars in play… Just for fun, a thought to use Piastri to slow down the cars in front… Me been silly, I would put Piastri on Hards from the beginning and make him go long and pull a Perez in Abu Dhabi to Verstappen, Hamilton… Keep Norris out for as long as possible, either for a potential overcut or simply to gain a tire delta to the other 2, if Piastri could be a road block for the other 2 then it could be game on

The fact that we can even dare to discuss potential strategies for win is simply amazing

[Ir3NiCuS]

https://twitter.com/FDataAnalysis/statu ... 00/photo/1

Seems like the car works well not just in the fast corners but during the 1st part of the acceleration phase

[Mostlyeels]

The hardest task tomorrow will be for the strategy Team… Between a potential 2 stopper, a risky though aggressive strategy could reap reward.

The biggest advantage for McLaren in the race is the fact that out of top 3, they are the only ones with 2 cars in play… Just for fun, a thought to use Piastri to slow down the cars in front… Me been silly, I would put Piastri on Hards from the beginning and make him go long and pull a Perez in Abu Dhabi to Verstappen, Hamilton… Keep Norris out for as long as possible, either for a potential overcut or simply to gain a tire delta to the other 2, if Piastri could be a road block for the other 2 then it could be game on

The fact that we can even dare to discuss potential strategies for win is simply amazing

Yeah, strategy will be key tomorrow. Also, some cars behind are closer on the harder tyres. There'll be a lot to win and lose in pit stops and strategy, and a good start.

I still can't believe the pace of the car.

[Mansell89]

So pleased with todays performance and it suggests our upgrades have improved many elements of performance that should translate to many circuits across the calendar.

I feared we could end up P9,P10 with how competitive things are across the field, so to back up Silverstones P2,P3 with a Hungaroring P3 and P4 is absolutely superb news.

Max of course hugely dangerous on long runs - not sure on Lewis (anyone got some decent data?) but to have two of our boys up there gives us options to be aggressive and apply pressure with strategy.

[BMMR61]

MCL60B + MEDIUMS = SWEET SPOT!!!
Lando is indeed the only driver in top 15 with a fresh set of mediums and the car has been DOMINANT on this tyre. I’m out of sync (down under) with the forum but when you all wake up in the morning and realise it wasn’t a dream you can dare to dream of anything up to and including a win.

It’s been such a recovery to see that this package should be decent anywhere and breathe in calmly and not be disappointed that they chose to hold back stage 3 of the upgrade. There’s almost certainly plenty still to be learned with this current spec and using this weekend to evaluate MCL60B2 before introducing B3 is probably a productive way to go. Sorry to harp on this again but understanding your engineering trajectory is as important as the trajectory itself, in the longer view. Tomorrow I see a good prospect of getting in front of Max (again) from the clean side and getting a good haul of points between our two brilliant young drivers.

[djos]

It seems better here than on the high speed corners, have you ever seen an upgrade so strong as this? I cannot in my life think of another upgrade as effective as this.

If as implied by the team, this is what they were working on since the end of last year… It is not that surprising of a jump, it is a “Winter Jump” done in-season

To the front of the grid almost? Even in winter it is mighty. Look at how everyone spoke of AM at the start and they were still trailing RB.

This is orders of magnitude better and the team have even been surprised.

Peter Prodmorou, you have everyone's thanks.

Indeed, that was fantastic! PP needs a pay rise!

[djos]

Zak should give him a pay rise too!