Perhaps I am missunderstanding your words, but 4th was also fully deserved last year. They were nowhere for half the season, and while it's true that McLaren was the 2nd fastest car for quite some races after their major upgrades last year, Mercedes was much more consistent and Ferrari actually improved substantially towards the end of the season.LionsHeart wrote: ↑19 Jun 2024, 11:10It's hard to disagree. It's just that a year ago Lando performed well in qualifying and so badly in the race. And the incident with Lewis took place. Since then the car has become much faster, but the rivals are not standing still either. So far I can only foresee that the density of results may be preserved. For Formula 1 this is good. It's a pity that the FIA is not smart enough to freeze the technical regulations for, say, 8 years. Then the density of results would be impressive.BMMR61 wrote: ↑19 Jun 2024, 09:23I doubt we can take any pattern for McLaren's Barcelona performance from last year. The car was the pre-updated MCL60. Effectively we are 4 major upgrades or new cars since then. I doubt the attributes of the upgraded MCL60, let alone it's horrible parent car, are an effective comparison for the current cars strengths and weaknesses. For sure, Barcelona will provide a good reference for this car, "going forward". Do we still have arguably the best mid-high speed car like Silverstone last year? I doubt it - look no further back than the slightly disappointing Suzuka performance this year. What I do think is that the reliable correlation and adaptability of 38B should put McLaren in the mix for at last a podium.LionsHeart wrote: ↑19 Jun 2024, 08:17
7-8 tenths? My brain doesn't remember this, perhaps to save my psyche.
It has been pointed out that McLaren are the only team with a 100% finishing record with 100% of the laps run, and Lando is the only driver to score points in every round this year. (He would have been joined by Oscar but for Carlos's lunge at Miami!) We have 212 points compared to 17 last year! Hope that doesn't put the mockers on the team.
I can even add to your thought. Last season McLaren finished the season in fourth place. This year, even if there is a third place, it is fully deserved and will be done thanks to the team staff and drivers. So far the team is moving in the right direction, climbing higher and higher in the constructors' cup.
With Oscar being a rookie last year, I doubt they would have been able to slash away the huge points advantage Mercedes and Ferrari had built up by the time McLaren became competitive.