2024 Mclaren Formula 1 Team

[Ben1980]

There is no pessimism, but I never cherry pick the best moments to make any team look good.

You cherry pick just as much but in the opposite direction. Saying you don't think McLaren can win until next upgrades seems so premature and unobjective that I had to comment about it. We have proof in last bunch of races that they were very close and if there was just slightly better luck, they would have done it.

I don't think I do, but when the worst stints/moments are so significant, it's difficult to ignore them the way some people here do. It's weird to me how people think the first safety car took away a race win here, when in fact, Lando would have been overtaken on track at the end there with the pace he had even if he was P1.

Lando was over 10 seconds clear at one point. The safety car certainly changed that race. Obviously it's all very different without the safety car, but a lead of 10 seconds plus is not sonething to be easily given away.

[Ben1980]

It's simple really, and Max said it really well after losing to Lando in Miami. When you have the best car on track, it often doesn't matter how lucky / unlucky you get.

Opportunities were there for the win today, even with the unlucky safety car timing. If the car was the best on track, they would have taken it by pure pace instead of relying on good fortune.

Who thinks Mclaren have the best car?

[Emag]

You cherry pick just as much but in the opposite direction. Saying you don't think McLaren can win until next upgrades seems so premature and unobjective that I had to comment about it. We have proof in last bunch of races that they were very close and if there was just slightly better luck, they would have done it.

I don't think I do, but when the worst stints/moments are so significant, it's difficult to ignore them the way some people here do. It's weird to me how people think the first safety car took away a race win here, when in fact, Lando would have been overtaken on track at the end there with the pace he had even if he was P1.

Whether NOR would have won today is hard to say. There was more than one safety car so he would have been bunched up at least and then he would be vulnerable (like Piastri). But he was very hard done by losing such a big gap and then ending up P3. And this wasn't because someone took a risk and SC fell right, it was because race control once again threw a SC just as NOR was passing pit entry (like in Miami). Looking at it objectively on NOR later stints, it is likely that he would have not kept his P1. VER probably had enough, especially with good restarts and DRS.

But I still don't think you are objective. Best example is that you mention free practices in Monaco to prove Leclerc was supposed to be on pole. Free practices mean nothing. You are conservative and pessimistic.

But let's finish it here. We've made our argument.

From the data I have seen, with Leclerc fuc*king off in the distance at the end in Monaco, I firmly believe Ferrari had the better car in Monaco and Oscar nailing a mega lap in quali wouldn't have changed that opinion for me.

I am conservative, because gaps are tight and the car is leaking significant amount of laptime on certain conditions while gaining a lot on others. Any technical person should look into that as a potentially serious weakness of inconsistency instead of solely boosting their confidence based on finishing results (which I admit, is also important and I am sure Andrea Stella is striking the right balance in the background).

I am a fan of this team, but I do not allow personal desires and hope to get in the way of what the true picture looks like. Until they go out on track and be consistently faster than the rest of the field and take the flag 1st with no outside "forces" impacting results, then I will continue to be cautious in my expectations of what is possible for them.

And that's the last bit I wanted to add here.

[Emag]

It's simple really, and Max said it really well after losing to Lando in Miami. When you have the best car on track, it often doesn't matter how lucky / unlucky you get.

Opportunities were there for the win today, even with the unlucky safety car timing. If the car was the best on track, they would have taken it by pure pace instead of relying on good fortune.

Who thinks Mclaren have the best car?

I sure hope nobody, because they would be quite wrong. I wasn't insinuating McLaren had the best car, rather what would be possible for them if they indeed had the best car.

[willmesquita]

There is no pessimism, but I never cherry pick the best moments to make any team look good.

You cherry pick just as much but in the opposite direction. Saying you don't think McLaren can win until next upgrades seems so premature and unobjective that I had to comment about it. We have proof in last bunch of races that they were very close and if there was just slightly better luck, they would have done it.

I don't think I do, but when the worst stints/moments are so significant, it's difficult to ignore them the way some people here do. It's weird to me how people think the first safety car took away a race win here, when in fact, Lando would have been overtaken on track at the end there with the pace he had even if he was P1.

You don't know how many sec would be Lando's advantage without SC. If he clears 10s over Max in the first stint, I bet he would win. In a scenario without any SC.

[MrGapes]

Exciting races coming up, finally some traditional smoother circuits.. The MCL38s high speed performance will finally be on full display. These updates have alleviated some of the low speed issues, so we may not need to sacrifice high speed performance to compensate. I feel these tracks should suit us more than the opposition… unfortunately I feel this should also see Red Bull stretch its legs.

[Ben1980]

It's simple really, and Max said it really well after losing to Lando in Miami. When you have the best car on track, it often doesn't matter how lucky / unlucky you get.

Opportunities were there for the win today, even with the unlucky safety car timing. If the car was the best on track, they would have taken it by pure pace instead of relying on good fortune.

Who thinks Mclaren have the best car?

I sure hope nobody, because they would be quite wrong. I wasn't insinuating McLaren had the best car, rather what would be possible for them if they indeed had the best car.

I'm struggling with your argument. If no obe is saying Mclaren have the best car, why argue that they haven't got the best car?

They do have a car that's challenging, and RBR don't have it all easy as last season, even if they win most races.

[kediown]

Does anyone know why Piastri couldn't keep up with Norris even when Norris was flying on Inters? Different setup or because of skill/experience stuff?

[LionsHeart]

I looked at the telemetry. Lando had 2-4 seconds to pit. So he could have pitted but he didn't. I take my words back. So it's complicated. On the other hand, you could say that this time the race management took a long time to make a decision and if they had announced the safety car 10 seconds earlier, then Lando would have been called into the pits.

Yes, just unlucky.

[Ben1980]

Does anyone know why Piastri couldn't keep up with Norris even when Norris was flying on Inters? Different setup or because of skill/experience stuff?

Oscar was flying on inters aswell in the first stint. He only really struggled on mediums but they both did. He and lando traded fastest laps near the end of that stint.

[LionsHeart]

You cherry pick just as much but in the opposite direction. Saying you don't think McLaren can win until next upgrades seems so premature and unobjective that I had to comment about it. We have proof in last bunch of races that they were very close and if there was just slightly better luck, they would have done it.

I don't think I do, but when the worst stints/moments are so significant, it's difficult to ignore them the way some people here do. It's weird to me how people think the first safety car took away a race win here, when in fact, Lando would have been overtaken on track at the end there with the pace he had even if he was P1.

You don't know how many sec would be Lando's advantage without SC. If he clears 10s over Max in the first stint, I bet he would win. In a scenario without any SC.

I'll be objective. It was a clear 8 seconds. Behind Lando Sargent had the car spinning and Max had already been hit by yellows flags, so he lost another two or three seconds in that area.

[LionsHeart]

It's simple really, and Max said it really well after losing to Lando in Miami. When you have the best car on track, it often doesn't matter how lucky / unlucky you get.

Opportunities were there for the win today, even with the unlucky safety car timing. If the car was the best on track, they would have taken it by pure pace instead of relying on good fortune.

Who thinks Mclaren have the best car?

I sure hope nobody, because they would be quite wrong. I wasn't insinuating McLaren had the best car, rather what would be possible for them if they indeed had the best car.

I also can't say that McLaren has the fastest car. Because it's not. But, objectively, it is capable of fighting for victories for several weekends now. In general, starting from Miami, the racing pace is comparable to the leaders, and stable podium finishes speak for themselves.

Ferrari was nowhere in the race, as well as in qualifying. There is no pace in dry and rainy conditions. I don't know what the reason is, but perhaps, like in Shanghai, it is difficult for them to warm up the tires to operating temperatures.

So far, McLaren has the most stable car of the top four teams in terms of getting on the podium and direct fight for victories.

[willmesquita]

I don't think I do, but when the worst stints/moments are so significant, it's difficult to ignore them the way some people here do. It's weird to me how people think the first safety car took away a race win here, when in fact, Lando would have been overtaken on track at the end there with the pace he had even if he was P1.

You don't know how many sec would be Lando's advantage without SC. If he clears 10s over Max in the first stint, I bet he would win. In a scenario without any SC.

I'll be objective. It was a clear 8 seconds. Behind Lando Sargent had the car spinning and Max had already been hit by yellows flags, so he lost another two or three seconds in that area.

I mean, in a hypothetical race at same conditions but without SC, as we saw the 1st and 2nd stint - inters - inters - med/hard - can anyone say Norris wouldn't win? He had +8s and was opening up, Piastri had catch Russell and would catch Max in a few laps...man, I probably saw other race!

[LionsHeart]

You don't know how many sec would be Lando's advantage without SC. If he clears 10s over Max in the first stint, I bet he would win. In a scenario without any SC.

I'll be objective. It was a clear 8 seconds. Behind Lando Sargent had the car spinning and Max had already been hit by yellows flags, so he lost another two or three seconds in that area.

I mean, in a hypothetical race at same conditions but without SC, as we saw the 1st and 2nd stint - inters - inters - med/hard - can anyone say Norris wouldn't win? He had +8s and was opening up, Piastri had catch Russell and would catch Max in a few laps...man, I probably saw other race!

If that were the case, then yes. Lando had killer race pace at that point. I'm not arguing that. And yes, I saw the race, don't worry.

[willmesquita]

I'll be objective. It was a clear 8 seconds. Behind Lando Sargent had the car spinning and Max had already been hit by yellows flags, so he lost another two or three seconds in that area.

I mean, in a hypothetical race at same conditions but without SC, as we saw the 1st and 2nd stint - inters - inters - med/hard - can anyone say Norris wouldn't win? He had +8s and was opening up, Piastri had catch Russell and would catch Max in a few laps...man, I probably saw other race!

If that were the case, then yes. Lando had killer race pace at that point. I'm not arguing that. And yes, I saw the race, don't worry.

You saw the same as me! But not all people here. I am not saying we have the best car here today at all conditions. On a dry track the Mercedes looked mighty and Verstappen had us under control, but in a clean race with 65% of laps on full wet/inters, we had the speed to open up a gap to catch the win even losing ground at the end.