2024 Mclaren Formula 1 Team

[SilviuAgo]

A comparison between Quali and Race: I will not comment other teams, but for McLaren, seems that the race pace "solved" S1 issues and lost a little bit in S3 but the result was still good.
What is very interesting in S2, specially for Lando. Not only that he lost same places, but was off the pace vs Oscar too. After the race LN complained about grip for the entire race.

[Ben1980]

I think the Ferrari pace is a bit of an outlier due to Leclercs brake issues today. Mercedes claiming they lost significantly due to overheating, although I feel it’s being overstated.
8/10s the gap to RB seems a lot!

Pretty much the distance was the same as last year though we were much closer in Qualifying. However for a team that wants to challenge for wins this year being 8 tenths off the pace is a massive hit in the balls. It's a distance that can't be covered easily considering Red Bull won't be that restricted as last year and you got to keep in mind the talent of Max Verstappen also.

Dont misunderstand me I am grateful seeing the team strong on a GP that doesnt suit the car being slightly better than Mercedes, surpassing Aston Martin by a mile and close to Ferrari. There they progressed nicely and I hope the upgrades are again monstrous like last year but again the team is chasing 8 tenths of pace to match Red Bull and Max. I want to see Norris duking it out on equal footing with Max because Norris is a monster delivering crazy performances with a car that is clearly behind and now time is ticking.

But, this is generally what happens, with cost cap and regulations. If one team gets a big lead at the start, it is pretty much impossible for that lead to be closed. Even harder, when it's such a well oiled team, with Newey.

They nailed the process and in all reality won't be overtaken before 2026 ( when I hope Macca make that lead)

[Darth-Piekus]

And that is my main issue here. The have frozen the engines so nobody has another way to battle Red Bull, they have limited tyre suppliers so that strips another way to battle Red Bull and pretty much limited the budget so you couldn't put a huge amount of money to be able to have all the upgrades ready on time. In the end the rules have only allowed aerodynamic evolution and ground effect that only Newey has seen in his life and obviously has an advantage. Pretty much whatever we manage this year will follow to the next year till 2026.

[SilviuAgo]

1. Perfect reaction from Lando at start. From 100 to 200 is not relevant, Lando had to pay attention in T1 at other drivers.
2. Pit stop times for Mclaren are reasonable, in line with other top teams.
3. Lando with slowest top speed, but when you see where VER is maybe this criteria is not so important to win a race, as McLaren targets.

[SilviuAgo]

So last corner was the main issue for McLaren in Bahrain

[FittingMechanics]

They are so upbeat. I feel they know upgrades are coming and that the pace will be there in next races.

[CjC]

They are so upbeat. I feel they know upgrades are coming and that the pace will be there in next races.

Or they know how lucky they are and are just enjoying every moment

It’s great to see

[101FlyingDutchman]

So last corner was the main issue for McLaren in Bahrain

Which is why I asked what in particular in that corner is the weak spot? Off throttle turn in trail brake? Curious really. He was losing 0.2/0.3s in that corner alone

[taperoo2k]

And that is my main issue here. The have frozen the engines so nobody has another way to battle Red Bull, they have limited tyre suppliers so that strips another way to battle Red Bull and pretty much limited the budget so you couldn't put a huge amount of money to be able to have all the upgrades ready on time. In the end the rules have only allowed aerodynamic evolution and ground effect that only Newey has seen in his life and obviously has an advantage. Pretty much whatever we manage this year will follow to the next year till 2026.

It's the same old story in F1. A team finds the most optimal solution for a set of regulations and runs away with both championships. The rest of the teams play catch up. If McLaren are on the right development path, then they have a chance of putting pressure onto RedBull. A shake up in the Power unit and aero regulations should make for a more interesting season in 2026. I still firmly believe McLaren have the ability to produce a championship winning car even as a customer team.

Overall McLaren showed decent race pace, if the developments are anything like last season, then we should see another McLaren Rocketship appear.

[Dafnalina]

I think that might be it. Don't remember if Oscar complained about that last corner when he did the race sims in testing.
I think Lando paid the price of not doing long runs here, too.

Overall, happy with our pace here. I was expecting Aston to be more competitive.

[Darth-Piekus]

It's the same old story in F1. A team finds the most optimal solution for a set of regulations and runs away with both championships. The rest of the teams play catch up. If McLaren are on the right development path, then they have a chance of putting pressure onto RedBull. A shake up in the Power unit and aero regulations should make for a more interesting season in 2026. I still firmly believe McLaren have the ability to produce a championship winning car even as a customer team.

Overall McLaren showed decent race pace, if the developments are anything like last season, then we should see another McLaren Rocketship appear.

I agree but the moment you see a team dominate for so long why keep the rules stable? Change them completely, unfreeze the engines and change the status quo. Why is it nessesary for the rules to stay like this till 2026? It will also be good for the sport to shuffle the deck.

[CouncilorIrissa]

And that is my main issue here. The have frozen the engines so nobody has another way to battle Red Bull, they have limited tyre suppliers so that strips another way to battle Red Bull and pretty much limited the budget so you couldn't put a huge amount of money to be able to have all the upgrades ready on time. In the end the rules have only allowed aerodynamic evolution and ground effect that only Newey has seen in his life and obviously has an advantage. Pretty much whatever we manage this year will follow to the next year till 2026.

Overall McLaren showed decent race pace, if the developments are anything like last season, then we should see another McLaren Rocketship appear.

I'd exercise caution with this kind of expectation, honestly.
Last summer was really the perfect storm for McLaren to make the jump they did: two out of three teams showed up with dodgy cars and we're busy figuring out what to do with concept that was no longer viable, Aston had some of their pace stripped of them (allegedly) due to front wing changes, and RB had no reason to continue developing their car. That won't be the case this year.

MCL did a good job last year by figuring out a few months before the season started what they really needed to do, but their jump wouldn't have been nearly as impressive if it wasn't for the factors I listed.

[elldizzle]

Very interesting, to be honest im reasonably happy, looks like we started where we left off last year. Race pace was interesting with Mercedes and Ferrari. Need to look into the last corner issue as we lost a lot there. Also looked like the pace wasn't great on the lower fuel. Much better on higher fuel. Hamilton was a step quicker than us in the last stint. But for a track that doesn't suit the car and that we've struggled at for the last few seasons. It's a good result. Ferrari have always been quite good here. So feel the Ferrari,Merc and Mcl battle will ebb and flow track dependant. Red Bull are another story, Verstappen's pace was insane!!!

[dia6olo]

Very interesting, to be honest im reasonably happy, looks like we started where we left off last year. Race pace was interesting with Mercedes and Ferrari. Need to look into the last corner issue as we lost a lot there. Also looked like the pace wasn't great on the lower fuel. Much better on higher fuel. Hamilton was a step quicker than us in the last stint. But for a track that doesn't suit the car and that we've struggled at for the last few seasons. It's a good result. Ferrari have always been quite good here. So feel the Ferrari,Merc and Mcl battle will ebb and flow track dependant. Red Bull are another story, Verstappen's pace was insane!!!

The Ferrari car characteristics have changed, I don't think this track suits them anymore, look at their medium to high cornering speeds, they are high, they used to be on the poor side, they used to be very sharp around the slow corners, not the case anymore...

[mwillems]

They are so upbeat. I feel they know upgrades are coming and that the pace will be there in next races.

There's definately a little bit of the old Mclaren Bromance coming back, which is good