2023 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[MCLvamos]

and I do have to say yesterday was probably Lando's worst qualifying in some time. He had so many warnings in Q1 and 2, I was sure he would put it together in Q3. Anyway, it happens. The main thing is he learns from it and has a near-perfect day today.

[mwillems]

So 3 misjudgments where he didn't total the car in any way are "major errors". And the Hungary one is EXTREMELY harsh, he still stuck it P3 ahead of his teammate. You don't see Lando binning it in the wall like Leclerc or Russell and, considering how few mistakes he's made over the last few years, I think we can cut him some slack with a few scruffy mistakes. Im sure as the car improves he will cut these out even more.

It's not about slack, it is about an honest appraisal, and it could be a lot better.

ok fair, upon reflection it has been an unusually scruffy year for Lando. But he has still been one of the most reliable and impressive drivers this year.

As I said, when I started this conversation it isn't to do Lando down or to say I don't like him or want him int he team. He's a guy I want with the team for the next ten years, and I'm British so I actually carry bias for Lando, though I will be honest so it doesn't seem like it. But He's not had a great season in Qualy, made a lot of mistakes and he is now being beaten by his teammate since Belgium onwards in the H2H. Some is down to pressure, some is just down to him not reading the limits of the car well and not finding that limit consistently.

I concede the pressure from Oscar is a new part of this, but it isn't the only part, but who knows, if this car is hard to drive maybe it is harder to "feel" those limits, if you want to find some benefit of the doubt. But overall, he needs to up his game in this regard as he isn't near the top drivers yet, and we grow ever nearer to the sharp end of the constructors.

This year it doesn't count so much, we don't need fourth, it is a write off development year, but next year and the year after should count if we have the car we think we will. And these mistakes can cost badly, just look back at when the driver pairing allowed us to edge Racing Point despite a car that was a bit slower, or for the year after when they edged us because Daniel couldn't drive the car.

But all of this serves to show the amazing job Piastri has been doing. I don't think Lando is up there with Hamilton, Max and Nando yet although some call him one of the Elites. But It is hard to look beyond Oscars meteoric drama free rise this year, to matching and exceeding one lap pace and not being too far off race pace. And perhaps whilst not due to pressure directly, having someone else who can drive the car well has helped highlight areas where Lando can improve, because since Sainz that comparison has not really existed, he was able to mark his own work in many ways, but that time has ended.

[PikeStance]

It’s a little bit of an overreaction to track limits. The track was tricky all day. Let’s see if they can bounce back with the sprint. I think with our new found race pace we can still be a factor for a podium on Sunday.

[PikeStance]

When it comes to qualifying Piastri is driving on par with Norris. On race day, Norris is well ahead. When all said I’m done, I’m expecting Piastri to be better.

[MCLvamos]

When it comes to qualifying Piastri is driving on par with Norris. On race day, Norris is well ahead. When all said I’m done, I’m expecting Piastri to be better.

bit speculative imo. Im a lando fan so will always fight his corner, but I do feel like it's the "good" or media-backed at least opinion now to say lando is overrated and class Piastri as the next Hamilton. Whilst Oscar is a phenomenal talent, I wouldn't write off Lando in any way.

[MCLvamos]

Anyway, prospects for tomorrow. We look down in top speed, which is not ideal, but hopefully there won't be too many DRS trains and we can get past with a good exit out of the last corner. Clearing Alonso and Leclerc will be the toughest tasks, if we can somehow get up to the Mercs overtaking them will be less tricky.

[organic]

My figures from f1-tempo telemetry don't align with McLaren's value on that chart. On their fastest deleted laps, oscar was at 317km/h and Norris 318 which is more in line with what I'd expect for them

[MCLvamos]

My figures from f1-tempo telemetry don't align with McLaren's value on that chart. On their fastest deleted laps, oscar was at 317km/h and Norris 318 which is more in line with what I'd expect for them

ah yes, forgot about that. you're right it was 317, we look much more competitive with DRS off (although this will probably be irrelevant given the type of race we need to execute). not bad, but not ideal of course. I just hope we can recover to the podium with one of the cars. I know its a long shot but this quick a car deserves to be rewarded.

[mwillems]

My figures from f1-tempo telemetry don't align with McLaren's value on that chart. On their fastest deleted laps, oscar was at 317km/h and Norris 318 which is more in line with what I'd expect for them

Piastri actually went 319 on his last Q2 lap, Norris went 323 on his last Q2 lap.

[mwillems]

It’s a little bit of an overreaction to track limits. The track was tricky all day. Let’s see if they can bounce back with the sprint. I think with our new found race pace we can still be a factor for a podium on Sunday.

The quotes in here are largely talking about the season so far and the last 6 races, not one event. Of course if this was a one off it would be an overreaction but the conversation hasn't be about one qualifying.

[organic]

My figures from f1-tempo telemetry don't align with McLaren's value on that chart. On their fastest deleted laps, oscar was at 317km/h and Norris 318 which is more in line with what I'd expect for them

ah yes, forgot about that. you're right it was 317, we look much more competitive with DRS off (although this will probably be irrelevant given the type of race we need to execute). not bad, but not ideal of course. I just hope we can recover to the podium with one of the cars. I know its a long shot but this quick a car deserves to be rewarded.

Indeed. I'm not that worried about overtaking the likes of AMR on track. They should experience issues with degradation as they're carrying a lower wing.

This shows there's a bit of work to do to improve the effectiveness of the drs.

[mwillems]

My figures from f1-tempo telemetry don't align with McLaren's value on that chart. On their fastest deleted laps, oscar was at 317km/h and Norris 318 which is more in line with what I'd expect for them

ah yes, forgot about that. you're right it was 317, we look much more competitive with DRS off (although this will probably be irrelevant given the type of race we need to execute). not bad, but not ideal of course. I just hope we can recover to the podium with one of the cars. I know its a long shot but this quick a car deserves to be rewarded.

Indeed. I'm not that worried about overtaking the likes of AMR on track. They should experience issues with degradation as they're carrying a lower wing.

This shows there's a bit of work to do to improve the effectiveness of the drs.

https://i.imgur.com/4QQzizs.jpeg

These are strictly from Q3 and not the best performances of the car through Q, since the setup's haven't changed and the Q3 we had it's reasonable to assume we are faster than this chart suggests.

Also, when the DRS is open there is DRS efficiency but it also highlights more the overall efficiency of the package, who's drag efficiency becomes more prevalent with DRS open. I suspect this is where the team will also be focussing.

[organic]

ah yes, forgot about that. you're right it was 317, we look much more competitive with DRS off (although this will probably be irrelevant given the type of race we need to execute). not bad, but not ideal of course. I just hope we can recover to the podium with one of the cars. I know its a long shot but this quick a car deserves to be rewarded.

Indeed. I'm not that worried about overtaking the likes of AMR on track. They should experience issues with degradation as they're carrying a lower wing.

This shows there's a bit of work to do to improve the effectiveness of the drs.

https://i.imgur.com/4QQzizs.jpeg

These are strictly from Q3 and not the best performances of the car through Q, since the setup's haven't changed it's reasonable to assume we are faster than this chart suggests.

Also, when the DRS is open there is DRS efficiency but it also highlights more the overall efficiency of the package, who's drag efficiency becomes more prevalent with DRS open. I suspect this is more where the team will be focussing.

Why is it reasonable to assume that? I've looked at the telemetry for all sessions in qualifying and the car's best numbers came in Q3..

If you take Piastri's deleted laptime and either of Norris' deleted Q3 times you get McLaren's topspeed falling out as 317-318km/h

If you select the fastest valid laptimes set by each driver in qualifying (Norris' first run in Q2, Piastri's first run in Q3) you get top speeds of 314 km/h and 315 km/h which is what some of these data accounts on Twitter have done:



Whereas if you look at simply when the drivers pushed the most:



If you look at when the top speeds were the highest you will have tows obfuscating matters: it was worth as much as 10km/h on the straight yesterday.

[mwillems]

Indeed. I'm not that worried about overtaking the likes of AMR on track. They should experience issues with degradation as they're carrying a lower wing.

This shows there's a bit of work to do to improve the effectiveness of the drs.

https://i.imgur.com/4QQzizs.jpeg

These are strictly from Q3 and not the best performances of the car through Q, since the setup's haven't changed it's reasonable to assume we are faster than this chart suggests.

Also, when the DRS is open there is DRS efficiency but it also highlights more the overall efficiency of the package, who's drag efficiency becomes more prevalent with DRS open. I suspect this is more where the team will be focussing.

Why is it reasonable to assume that? I've looked at the telemetry for all sessions in qualifying and the car's best numbers came in Q3..

If you take Piastri's deleted laptime and either of Norris' deleted Q3 times you get McLaren's topspeed falling out as 317-318km/h

If you select the fastest valid laptimes set by each driver in qualifying (Norris' first run in Q2, Piastri's first run in Q3) you get top speeds of 314 km/h and 315 km/h which is what some of these data accounts on Twitter have done:

https://i.imgur.com/juWVWZX.png

Whereas if you look at simply when the drivers pushed the most:

https://i.imgur.com/BHjvmAT.png

If you look at when the top speeds were the highest you will have tows obfuscating matters: it was worth as much as 10km/h on the straight yesterday.

The start of a lap, not subject to any infringements, Oscar went 323, I'm not sure if he made mistakes later but it is besides the point, at that point the car did 323 within limits.

[organic]

These are strictly from Q3 and not the best performances of the car through Q, since the setup's haven't changed it's reasonable to assume we are faster than this chart suggests.

Also, when the DRS is open there is DRS efficiency but it also highlights more the overall efficiency of the package, who's drag efficiency becomes more prevalent with DRS open. I suspect this is more where the team will be focussing.

Why is it reasonable to assume that? I've looked at the telemetry for all sessions in qualifying and the car's best numbers came in Q3..

If you take Piastri's deleted laptime and either of Norris' deleted Q3 times you get McLaren's topspeed falling out as 317-318km/h

If you select the fastest valid laptimes set by each driver in qualifying (Norris' first run in Q2, Piastri's first run in Q3) you get top speeds of 314 km/h and 315 km/h which is what some of these data accounts on Twitter have done:

https://i.imgur.com/juWVWZX.png

Whereas if you look at simply when the drivers pushed the most:

https://i.imgur.com/BHjvmAT.png

If you look at when the top speeds were the highest you will have tows obfuscating matters: it was worth as much as 10km/h on the straight yesterday.

https://ibb.co/yQHJgRW

Yes.. that run was +5km/h on the main straight over every single other run that McLaren did in qualifying. I think we can deduce that there was a tow involved When the grip comes up in the final corner and the drivers push more the top speed starting the lap will be higher, hence Q3 top speeds being (ignoring the anomolous 323km/h) a few km/h higher than Q2/Q1.