2023 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[Ben1980]

Every other driver doesn't win a championship though, do they?

When drivers push they make errors. The tight battles are littered with errors, Max vs Lewis, Lewis Vs Nico, tight battles bring them out. When having it pretty comfy, like Max and many of Lewis titles, you can coast it and do it all pretty easy.

Those that have to push, will make the errors.

Every driver makes errors, but those drivers make far fewer and thrive under pressure.

But, those drivers make less errors because they don't have to push to gain an advantage as much. Max has smashed pretty much every race, but hasn't had to break sweat as mostly. When they have to, mistakes creep in just as much. Having watched Lando wrestle the car for a few years, there is nothing to think he is more prone to a mistake than anyone elsem

[mwillems]

I've never liked tracks like this where the driver is so eager to get off the track. I always like and respect classic tracks with grass and gravel. It's a pity that there are not so many such tracks left in the calendar and every time the judges have to decide whether there was an out of bounds or not.

Yeah I'd prefer that too.

It was tricky here though with the wind.

By the way, yes. The wind here also greatly affects the behavior of the chassis. But banal and the racer can not see from the cockpit was a departure outside the track or not. It would be necessary to make a 50 cm wide curb, and then I do not know, sausages can be added or other restrictions, if there is no desire to fill everything with gravel.

Or just let them all go where they want, might even get better overtaking.

[SmallSoldier]

Didn't see it. But, I can live with messing up with a fast car. It happens when pushing. If we are messing up with slow car it's more of a problem l.

In my book Lando has a lot of credit left to make a few mistakes here and there… He has been placing the McLaren in positions it had no right to be in for quite a while now.

And between pushing maybe trying to get a pole and difficult conditions on the track (green / slippery + windy) can’t really punish the guy… Also, some seem to think that just scrubbing a tenth or two is easy job… Taking it easy could have well placed them in P6 or below… They took a risk for the front row and it didn’t pay off, it happens

You are right of course, in the context of this season. But when we start pushing hard at the front of the constructors championship and the drivers championship, these mistakes can be the difference. I think what some are suggesting is that Lando may make a few too many mistakes on Qualy laps and not be able to max his speed consistently like others can.

It doesn't make a difference this year, but from next year onwards it may well do.

“If” as you state, Lando makes too many mistakes in Qualy (I wouldn’t agree with the statement)… Who do you bring in? Because just complaining about it on a forum isn’t going to change his driving… I prefer a fast guy, in Qualy and the Race that makes mistakes here and there, than an underperformed that is very consistent in regards to his speed… But that’s just me

[Ben1980]

Every other driver doesn't win a championship though, do they?

When drivers push they make errors. The tight battles are littered with errors, Max vs Lewis, Lewis Vs Nico, tight battles bring them out. When having it pretty comfy, like Max and many of Lewis titles, you can coast it and do it all pretty easy.

Those that have to push, will make the errors.

Every driver makes errors, but those drivers make far fewer and thrive under pressure.

The idea that Lando is yet on that level is laughable, to be honest, and seems very much to be based on fan bias.

I think Landos current performance would win as comfortable as Max if he was in a dominant car with a struggling teammate. I don't think he is the only one though.

Max is a brilliant driver, who only has to be better than Perez to win the title for 2 years.

[mwillems]

When drivers push they make errors. The tight battles are littered with errors, Max vs Lewis, Lewis Vs Nico, tight battles bring them out. When having it pretty comfy, like Max and many of Lewis titles, you can coast it and do it all pretty easy.

Those that have to push, will make the errors.

Every driver makes errors, but those drivers make far fewer and thrive under pressure.

But, those drivers make less errors because they don't have to push to gain an advantage as much. Max has smashed pretty much every race, but hasn't had to break sweat as mostly. When they have to, mistakes creep in just as much. Having watched Lando wrestle the car for a few years, there is nothing to think he is more prone to a mistake than anyone elsem

Let's agree to disagree. For me, Lando has work to do to be one of the very top and soon he is may have to perform at that level to prove himself against Max.

[mwillems]

In my book Lando has a lot of credit left to make a few mistakes here and there… He has been placing the McLaren in positions it had no right to be in for quite a while now.

And between pushing maybe trying to get a pole and difficult conditions on the track (green / slippery + windy) can’t really punish the guy… Also, some seem to think that just scrubbing a tenth or two is easy job… Taking it easy could have well placed them in P6 or below… They took a risk for the front row and it didn’t pay off, it happens

You are right of course, in the context of this season. But when we start pushing hard at the front of the constructors championship and the drivers championship, these mistakes can be the difference. I think what some are suggesting is that Lando may make a few too many mistakes on Qualy laps and not be able to max his speed consistently like others can.

It doesn't make a difference this year, but from next year onwards it may well do.

“If” as you state, Lando makes too many mistakes in Qualy (I wouldn’t agree with the statement)… Who do you bring in? Because just complaining about it on a forum isn’t going to change his driving… I prefer a fast guy, in Qualy and the Race that makes mistakes here and there, than an underperformed that is very consistent in regards to his speed… But that’s just me

No one suggested Lando isnt great or the driver we want, just an area that needs improvement to be able to compete with the very best, that my friend is scope creep.

There's nothing wrong with loving a driver but recognising areas that can be improved and it doesn't mean you want to get rid of him!

[Ben1980]

In my book Lando has a lot of credit left to make a few mistakes here and there… He has been placing the McLaren in positions it had no right to be in for quite a while now.

And between pushing maybe trying to get a pole and difficult conditions on the track (green / slippery + windy) can’t really punish the guy… Also, some seem to think that just scrubbing a tenth or two is easy job… Taking it easy could have well placed them in P6 or below… They took a risk for the front row and it didn’t pay off, it happens

You are right of course, in the context of this season. But when we start pushing hard at the front of the constructors championship and the drivers championship, these mistakes can be the difference. I think what some are suggesting is that Lando may make a few too many mistakes on Qualy laps and not be able to max his speed consistently like others can.

It doesn't make a difference this year, but from next year onwards it may well do.

“If” as you state, Lando makes too many mistakes in Qualy (I wouldn’t agree with the statement)… Who do you bring in? Because just complaining about it on a forum isn’t going to change his driving… I prefer a fast guy, in Qualy and the Race that makes mistakes here and there, than an underperformed that is very consistent in regards to his speed… But that’s just me

Can't imagine many do agree with the statement!

Can't expect many will look at Lando this season, and think, he's made too many mistakes during qualifying. Same last year, when he kept getting 7th. Which was pretty much the maximum.

[LionsHeart]

Yeah I'd prefer that too.

It was tricky here though with the wind.

By the way, yes. The wind here also greatly affects the behavior of the chassis. But banal and the racer can not see from the cockpit was a departure outside the track or not. It would be necessary to make a 50 cm wide curb, and then I do not know, sausages can be added or other restrictions, if there is no desire to fill everything with gravel.

Or just let them all go where they want, might even get better overtaking.

Honestly, I'll agree with this one even more. It makes the most sense.

[mwillems]

You are right of course, in the context of this season. But when we start pushing hard at the front of the constructors championship and the drivers championship, these mistakes can be the difference. I think what some are suggesting is that Lando may make a few too many mistakes on Qualy laps and not be able to max his speed consistently like others can.

It doesn't make a difference this year, but from next year onwards it may well do.

“If” as you state, Lando makes too many mistakes in Qualy (I wouldn’t agree with the statement)… Who do you bring in? Because just complaining about it on a forum isn’t going to change his driving… I prefer a fast guy, in Qualy and the Race that makes mistakes here and there, than an underperformed that is very consistent in regards to his speed… But that’s just me

Can't imagine many do agree with the statement!

Can't expect many will look at Lando this season, and think, he's made too many mistakes during qualifying. Same last year, when he kept getting 7th. Which was pretty much the maximum.

I think it's quite telling when someone takes it so personally that there is an opinion that they don't like.

[SmallSoldier]

You are right of course, in the context of this season. But when we start pushing hard at the front of the constructors championship and the drivers championship, these mistakes can be the difference. I think what some are suggesting is that Lando may make a few too many mistakes on Qualy laps and not be able to max his speed consistently like others can.

It doesn't make a difference this year, but from next year onwards it may well do.

“If” as you state, Lando makes too many mistakes in Qualy (I wouldn’t agree with the statement)… Who do you bring in? Because just complaining about it on a forum isn’t going to change his driving… I prefer a fast guy, in Qualy and the Race that makes mistakes here and there, than an underperformed that is very consistent in regards to his speed… But that’s just me

No one suggested Lando isnt great or the driver we want, just an area that needs improvement to be able to compete with the very best, that my friend is scope creep.

There's nothing wrong with loving a driver but recognising areas that can be improved and it doesn't mean you want to get rid of him!

Not disagreeing with you, I hope he does improves and continues to grow… And I’m inclined to think that he will… But the reality is (as have been pointed out before) that all drivers make mistakes and the more you push, the more mistakes you will make… I’m afraid I don’t have any actual data to make an statement in regards to who made more mistakes between the likes of Hamilton, Max, Alonso and Lando from a percentage perspective… But I can point out a few if I had to when they were “under pressure” from another driver… The point that was been made it’s a valid one, when a driver is in a dominant car, with a team mate that can’t match his speed, they are less prone to mistakes because they don’t have to push that hard… But we’ve seeing Hamilton make mistakes when Nico was a threat to him, we’ve seeing Max make mistakes when he didn’t had the dominant car he has today (maybe why he was nicknamed Crashtappen for a while)… Alonso made several mistakes in his stint with Ferrari (not fair to probably make an assessment on his second stint in McLaren)… On the other hand, we see them shine when they are not challenged, like Lewis with Bottas, Max with Perez, Alonso with Stroll.

Today was probably the first time since the new regulations started that McLaren had the possibility to be on pole, but the only way to do so was to drive 100/100, the car doesn’t yet have that pace advantage to allow them to fight for it for anything else… It didn’t work and not because of a huge mistake, simply caught out while pushing… I actually praise them for giving it a go, they don’t know when the next opportunity will show up.

[mwillems]

Aside From todays mistake of not setting a Q3 time:

Jeddah - Hit the wall
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula- ... n-29495300

Belgium - Destroyed the floor in Qualy
https://racingnews365.com/norris-destro ... ng-mistake

Too Many Mistakes over the lap, cost pole - Hungary
https://www.grandprix247.com/2023/07/22 ... ualifying/


Austria is one where you can argue he might be being hard

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433 ... s-beatable

4 Poor sessions and 1 where he might have done better but might be being hard, you rarely see this from top drivers even when pushing hard I'm afraid, the guy has some work to do.
4 poor sessions is 1/5th of the seasons qualy, to put that into perspective.

And that is from a quick google, I haven't gone into detail to see if I can find more.

[SmallSoldier]

“If” as you state, Lando makes too many mistakes in Qualy (I wouldn’t agree with the statement)… Who do you bring in? Because just complaining about it on a forum isn’t going to change his driving… I prefer a fast guy, in Qualy and the Race that makes mistakes here and there, than an underperformed that is very consistent in regards to his speed… But that’s just me

Can't imagine many do agree with the statement!

Can't expect many will look at Lando this season, and think, he's made too many mistakes during qualifying. Same last year, when he kept getting 7th. Which was pretty much the maximum.

I think it's quite telling when someone takes it so personally that there is an opinion that they don't like.

Not taking it personal at all my friend… You know I love you

[mwillems]

Can't imagine many do agree with the statement!

Can't expect many will look at Lando this season, and think, he's made too many mistakes during qualifying. Same last year, when he kept getting 7th. Which was pretty much the maximum.

I think it's quite telling when someone takes it so personally that there is an opinion that they don't like.

Not taking it personal at all my friend… You know I love you

Ahahahaha That remark wasn't for you lol You know I love our chats, I just prefer the ones away from here these days!

[Dafnalina]

To be fair to Lando, that last lap he went off correcting oversteer and actually lost time instead of being a bozo with the track limits like the rest of the session. So he did improve on his last lap, just a bit unlucky. Still doesn't justify him not setting any banker lap.

I thought Lewis' insight was interesting. He thinks track limits shouldn't be a thing in this track and that Lando should be there.

[mwillems]

“If” as you state, Lando makes too many mistakes in Qualy (I wouldn’t agree with the statement)… Who do you bring in? Because just complaining about it on a forum isn’t going to change his driving… I prefer a fast guy, in Qualy and the Race that makes mistakes here and there, than an underperformed that is very consistent in regards to his speed… But that’s just me

No one suggested Lando isnt great or the driver we want, just an area that needs improvement to be able to compete with the very best, that my friend is scope creep.

There's nothing wrong with loving a driver but recognising areas that can be improved and it doesn't mean you want to get rid of him!

Not disagreeing with you, I hope he does improves and continues to grow… And I’m inclined to think that he will… But the reality is (as have been pointed out before) that all drivers make mistakes and the more you push, the more mistakes you will make… I’m afraid I don’t have any actual data to make an statement in regards to who made more mistakes between the likes of Hamilton, Max, Alonso and Lando from a percentage perspective… But I can point out a few if I had to when they were “under pressure” from another driver… The point that was been made it’s a valid one, when a driver is in a dominant car, with a team mate that can’t match his speed, they are less prone to mistakes because they don’t have to push that hard… But we’ve seeing Hamilton make mistakes when Nico was a threat to him, we’ve seeing Max make mistakes when he didn’t had the dominant car he has today (maybe why he was nicknamed Crashtappen for a while)… Alonso made several mistakes in his stint with Ferrari (not fair to probably make an assessment on his second stint in McLaren)… On the other hand, we see them shine when they are not challenged, like Lewis with Bottas, Max with Perez, Alonso with Stroll.

Today was probably the first time since the new regulations started that McLaren had the possibility to be on pole, but the only way to do so was to drive 100/100, the car doesn’t yet have that pace advantage to allow them to fight for it for anything else… It didn’t work and not because of a huge mistake, simply caught out while pushing… I actually praise them for giving it a go, they don’t know when the next opportunity will show up.

Hungary was a chance at pole and he did bugger that one up, but as I say, this is the practise run. Next year, all being well, it gets serious.

And to be honest sometimes it is the pressure that helps people really find their strength and I hope he does nail it.

On a side note, having Piastri to push him, assuming he continues to get close, will only help the two get better and force them to be the very best they can.