2023 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[Emag]

I was just reminiscing in our past history, and I feel like this trait with qualifying pace being better than race pace is somewhat of a "tradition" for McLaren. It could very well be that we have had amazing drivers in our lineups and they have pulled magical laps for qualifying flattering the car. But even in our last real competitive year (2012), McLaren, especially in the first half of the season, was much faster in qualifying relatively speaking compared to their race pace.

Edit :
Just came back from Italy after attending my first ever Formula 1 GP and I got to feel like a kid again haha. Started watching some old races that I remember ignited my love for the sport years back. It might not have been the best race to attend as a McLaren fan, but Monza was the most accessible one for me this year, and I enjoyed it either way. I would have loved Hungary's race this year with Lando's podium, but sadly, the timing was a bit off for me. Hope to catch Hungary in the future.

[LionsHeart]

I was just reminiscing in our past history, and I feel like this trait with qualifying pace being better than race pace is somewhat of a "tradition" for McLaren. It could very well be that we have had amazing drivers in our lineups and they have pulled magical laps for qualifying flattering the car. But even in our last real competitive year (2012), McLaren, especially in the first half of the season, was much faster in qualifying relatively speaking compared to their race pace.

Edit :
Just came back from Italy after attending my first ever Formula 1 GP and I got to feel like a kid again haha. Started watching some old races that I remember ignited my love for the sport years back. It might not have been the best race to attend as a McLaren fan, but Monza was the most accessible one for me this year, and I enjoyed it either way. I would have loved Hungary's race this year with Lando's podium, but sadly, the timing was a bit off for me. Hope to catch Hungary in the future.

This is good! We, the fans of Formula 1, keep Formula 1 itself.

[mwillems]

I was just reminiscing in our past history, and I feel like this trait with qualifying pace being better than race pace is somewhat of a "tradition" for McLaren. It could very well be that we have had amazing drivers in our lineups and they have pulled magical laps for qualifying flattering the car. But even in our last real competitive year (2012), McLaren, especially in the first half of the season, was much faster in qualifying relatively speaking compared to their race pace.

Edit :
Just came back from Italy after attending my first ever Formula 1 GP and I got to feel like a kid again haha. Started watching some old races that I remember ignited my love for the sport years back. It might not have been the best race to attend as a McLaren fan, but Monza was the most accessible one for me this year, and I enjoyed it either way. I would have loved Hungary's race this year with Lando's podium, but sadly, the timing was a bit off for me. Hope to catch Hungary in the future.

Where did you get to watch from?? Anything you noticed about how the car handled?

Incidentally where did you travel from initially?

You seem right about Qualy pace, we did trend towards one lap wonders either on pace or just plain unreliable in the race if we were fast in both

[CjC]

I read today in the news from Rosberg that he has information from an insider that in 2024 Lando will play for another team. Does anyone believe this?

I think Nico was joking because of the media speculation that seemed to be doing the rounds at Monza

[CjC]

The lad who won the F2 feature race on Sunday, another Brit called Oliver Bearman, 18, also a Ferrari academy driver has 4 wins to his name in his rookie season compared to Landos 1 win. I was quite surprised to hear Lando has only won 1 F2 race.

Anyway point I’m making is there’s always someone ready to take your place so if one or both drivers leave Mclaren will just find another top driver.

[mwillems]

I read today in the news from Rosberg that he has information from an insider that in 2024 Lando will play for another team. Does anyone believe this?

I think Nico was joking because of the media speculation that seemed to be doing the rounds at Monza

When put to Zak:

However, McLaren boss Zak Brown moved to quash suggestions that Norris could be on the move any time soon.

Asked if McLaren would reject any offer to release Norris, Brown told Motorsport-Total.com: “Correct. Lando will be racing at McLaren through 2025. For sure."

[Emag]

I was just reminiscing in our past history, and I feel like this trait with qualifying pace being better than race pace is somewhat of a "tradition" for McLaren. It could very well be that we have had amazing drivers in our lineups and they have pulled magical laps for qualifying flattering the car. But even in our last real competitive year (2012), McLaren, especially in the first half of the season, was much faster in qualifying relatively speaking compared to their race pace.

Edit :
Just came back from Italy after attending my first ever Formula 1 GP and I got to feel like a kid again haha. Started watching some old races that I remember ignited my love for the sport years back. It might not have been the best race to attend as a McLaren fan, but Monza was the most accessible one for me this year, and I enjoyed it either way. I would have loved Hungary's race this year with Lando's podium, but sadly, the timing was a bit off for me. Hope to catch Hungary in the future.

Where did you get to watch from?? Anything you noticed about how the car handled?

Incidentally where did you travel from initially?

You seem right about Qualy pace, we did trend towards one lap wonders either on pace or just plain unreliable in the race if we were fast in both

I got to watch from Ascari, but since mine was a general admission ticket, I had to pretty much give up sleep to queue up very early in the morning to get a seat on that area for the race. It was worth it though.

In terms of car handling, it's difficult to tell honestly, because all of the cars are really really fast on track. But through Ascari, McLaren seemed to drive through effortlessly and with less sliding compared to Williams (which was the closest reference for most of the race unfortunately, together with Mercedes). Initially, Mercedes didn't seem better, but I have to say towards the end of the race, it seemed like Lewis had more grip.

Ferrari also seemed to be sliding there a lot, but I guess it's to be expected with them having to push the tires the whole race. Max on the other hand, was almost always smooth as butter through there. You could barely see any movement from the RedBull, it was impressive. With fresh tires, McLaren was similar through there, but they couldn't keep it for the entire stint.

I travelled from Albania, which is a very small country in the balkans, east of Italy across the mediterranean sea.

[Emag]

The lad who won the F2 feature race on Sunday, another Brit called Oliver Bearman, 18, also a Ferrari academy driver has 4 wins to his name in his rookie season compared to Landos 1 win. I was quite surprised to hear Lando has only won 1 F2 race.

Anyway point I’m making is there’s always someone ready to take your place so if one or both drivers leave Mclaren will just find another top driver.

To be fair, the F2 grid back when Lando was competing was quite strong (Russell, Albon and de Vries). These guys were all quite talented at a young age and Lando takes a while to settle in. On pure pace, Russell was very very fast that year and he impressed the most. But Lando got P2 through consistency, and for a rookie, that's also impressive considering the strength of the field.

[mwillems]

I was just reminiscing in our past history, and I feel like this trait with qualifying pace being better than race pace is somewhat of a "tradition" for McLaren. It could very well be that we have had amazing drivers in our lineups and they have pulled magical laps for qualifying flattering the car. But even in our last real competitive year (2012), McLaren, especially in the first half of the season, was much faster in qualifying relatively speaking compared to their race pace.

Edit :
Just came back from Italy after attending my first ever Formula 1 GP and I got to feel like a kid again haha. Started watching some old races that I remember ignited my love for the sport years back. It might not have been the best race to attend as a McLaren fan, but Monza was the most accessible one for me this year, and I enjoyed it either way. I would have loved Hungary's race this year with Lando's podium, but sadly, the timing was a bit off for me. Hope to catch Hungary in the future.

Where did you get to watch from?? Anything you noticed about how the car handled?

Incidentally where did you travel from initially?

You seem right about Qualy pace, we did trend towards one lap wonders either on pace or just plain unreliable in the race if we were fast in both

I got to watch from Ascari, but since mine was a general admission ticket, I had to pretty much give up sleep to queue up very early in the morning to get a seat on that area for the race. It was worth it though.

In terms of car handling, it's difficult to tell honestly, because all of the cars are really really fast on track. But through Ascari, McLaren seemed to drive through effortlessly and with less sliding compared to Williams (which was the closest reference for most of the race unfortunately, together with Mercedes). Initially, Mercedes didn't seem better, but I have to say towards the end of the race, it seemed like Lewis had more grip.

Ferrari also seemed to be sliding there a lot, but I guess it's to be expected with them having to push the tires the whole race. Max on the other hand, was almost always smooth as butter through there. You could barely see any movement from the RedBull, it was impressive. With fresh tires, McLaren was similar through there, but they couldn't keep it for the entire stint.

I travelled from Albania, which is a very small country in the Balkans, east of Italy across the Mediterranean sea.

Ascari is a great corner to watch, I'm sure it was worth the queue and I hope you had an amazing time! I've never been to Albania but I know where it is, just opposite Italy so close to a home race for you.

Ferrari were ridiculously low on downforce at the rear and were struggling even early on so I think they were setup specific, but it is interesting that you noted that the deg issue was still there for Mclaren, even if it wasn't terrible.

[Mostlyeels]

I got to watch from Ascari, but since mine was a general admission ticket, I had to pretty much give up sleep to queue up very early in the morning to get a seat on that area for the race. It was worth it though.

Lucky you! I love watching from the corners, you get to see all the differences in the cars.

[PikeStance]

I read today in the news from Rosberg that he has information from an insider that in 2024 Lando will play for another team. Does anyone believe this?

I think Nico was joking because of the media speculation that seemed to be doing the rounds at Monza

When put to Zak:

However, McLaren boss Zak Brown moved to quash suggestions that Norris could be on the move any time soon.

Asked if McLaren would reject any offer to release Norris, Brown told Motorsport-Total.com: “Correct. Lando will be racing at McLaren through 2025. For sure."

I think initially, Lando leaving wee a distinct possibility. This is probably why they sought to secure Palou. With improvements in the performance of the car, Lando (guessing) expressed a desire to remain with the team. Crucially, Oscar is doing well and most likely be offered a longer contract. This may have been the cause for Palou to announce that he is breaking his contract given if Norris remains, his best chance to get into an F1 car is 2026.

Williams seems to be the best bet for him.

[mclaren111]

[mwillems]

I think Nico was joking because of the media speculation that seemed to be doing the rounds at Monza

When put to Zak:

However, McLaren boss Zak Brown moved to quash suggestions that Norris could be on the move any time soon.

Asked if McLaren would reject any offer to release Norris, Brown told Motorsport-Total.com: “Correct. Lando will be racing at McLaren through 2025. For sure."

I think initially, Lando leaving wee a distinct possibility. This is probably why they sought to secure Palou. With improvements in the performance of the car, Lando (guessing) expressed a desire to remain with the team. Crucially, Oscar is doing well and most likely be offered a longer contract. This may have been the cause for Palou to announce that he is breaking his contract given if Norris remains, his best chance to get into an F1 car is 2026.

Williams seems to be the best bet for him.

I also don't think Norris is going anywhere, Oscar will go where his best options are, we know this about him already and so we need to be that best option.

[mclaren111]

To be honest, I'm tired of constantly seeing from the faces of Red Bull that they are sorry to see that Lando's contract is until 2025, that he is the best candidate for Red Bull and so on. This is pressure for both the fans of the team and for the management of McLaren. If the team will make the car work quickly in the very near future and confirm this next year, then they will save themselves from unnecessary pressure.

I also think that Zak should renew the contracts with Lando and Oscar in the very near future. If the team has a fast car, then it's not scary, because in which case many will want to play for our team. And there are contenders.

As a big Lando fan, I am quickly becoming an Oscar fan too... He is doing extremely well for a rookie - very mature...

As long as we have 1 champion level driver I am happy... I think signing Oscar longer term should be Zak's priority...

[mclaren111]

I read today in the news from Rosberg that he has information from an insider that in 2024 Lando will play for another team. Does anyone believe this?

I don't believe it but it is one to look for. Yet another reason to tie Oscar down.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula- ... 1-30856783

There's a lot of confidence in here that everything will go our way with the drivers, and I hope that's true. But there is not any reason to forgive complacency in contract negotiations. Just ask Nando, Oscar, Webber and Alpine.

I want to hear that these two are tied down, Oscar with urgency.

Agree...