2024 Mclaren Formula 1 Team

[Slahinki]

There is no guarantee of fighting for the WDC this year, but if the team don't start maximising the points of Norris soon, even if it comes at the cost of telling Piastri to protect Norris from the moment the lights go out, the only thing that can be guaranteed is that there won't be a fight for the WDC. And I just hope McLaren take the appropriate measures before it's a mathematical impossibility.

[FittingMechanics]

I always hated when teams would clearly favor one driver over the other, especially when it is done early in the season or when there is no need.

This is a similar situation. Verstappen is so far away and so many points are still available that I don't think destroying team unity is worth it. Norris made it harder than he should have, they obviously had an agreement before the race that they will protect against undercut by pitting the second driver first but that they will swap the positions back.

Btw what a great problem to have. What a difference a year and a half makes.

[mclaren111]

There's a lot of unfamiliar accounts suddenly appearing now McLaren are (a) competitive and (b) having some strategy blunders. While we should welcome new people here, some of the stuff is just ridiculous, perhaps they could be called the Netflix generation. Just as McLaren are having fantastic results, beyond predictions, the bellyaching is hard to stomach (pun intended). We're entitled to our own opinions but I need a break from here after some of the hyperbolic stuff. I remain McLaren through and through, as some old salts used to say - if you cut him he would bleed orange (papaya)!

[mclaren111]

I always hated when teams would clearly favor one driver over the other, especially when it is done early in the season or when there is no need.

This is a similar situation. Verstappen is so far away and so many points are still available that I don't think destroying team unity is worth it. Norris made it harder than he should have, they obviously had an agreement before the race that they will protect against undercut by pitting the second driver first but that they will swap the positions back.

Btw what a great problem to have. What a difference a year and a half makes.

True... Twelfe Bloody Years...

[daren_p]

I think the decision was wrong for the simple reason that Piastri could not bring the fight to Norris. Sure, team orders around tyre savings that Piastri followed and disobeyed by Norris, but still the driver of the car decides the pace.

Saying this as a Norris fan, but Norris didn't exactly bring the fight to Piastri in the first two stints either. Yes, he did close up on the second stint but never got into DRS range. As Max had clearly shown, passing at Hungary isn't easy even with a pace advantage. Passing in the same car would likely be even harder. So while I think if Lando was leading the race after the first corner, his pace in clear air would probably have been faster then Oscar's was but that's not what happened. The chances of him actually passing Oscar on track, had they pitted in order were probably rather slim & may have just ended with them coming together as it likely would have taken some aggressive attempts to make the pass stick.

[Tvetovnato]

There is no guarantee of fighting for the WDC this year, but if the team don't start maximising the points of Norris soon, even if it comes at the cost of telling Piastri to protect Norris from the moment the lights go out, the only thing that can be guaranteed is that there won't be a fight for the WDC. And I just hope McLaren take the appropriate measures before it's a mathematical impossibility.

As much as I would absolutely love for them to be able to fight for the WDC, we can forget it. It won’t happen. Max will likely crash himself out a couple more times this year when in traffic, but otherwise the RB is too reliable and there will be races where RB is faster, where other teams will take points off McL and where McL cocks up their strategies. Lando is too inconsistent too. 70 points is simply just too much. Have to hope for next year instead.

[bauc]

Any news if VER will take a penalty at SPA for his 4th PU? If so, this might helps us to close the gap on RBR in constructors even more (if we execute the weekend as we should)

[McLarenMor]

Yet again, Will Joseph proves he is not up for the job.
Pathetic exchange, poorly handled, lacking assertiveness.
I wonder what will be the excuse of his defenders from the last time we had the discussion.

[mwillems]

Yet again, Will Joseph proves he is not up for the job.
Pathetic exchange, poorly handled, lacking assertiveness.
I wonder what will be the excuse of his defenders from the last time we had the discussion.

On this occasion, I agree he should have been better. It should have been clear before the pit and afterwards. I've no issue with the undercut, although I don't understand their strategy sometimes, it would have caused no issue the team had simply been clear to Lando about what they expect if they pit him first. We will pit you first, but you will return the position. This is to protect you since you are trailing, not to gift you a win.

Incidentally, disagreeing with you about Will Joseph at the last race doesn't make me a Will Joseph defender, it means we have different opinions I think you were totally wrong last time. This time he did not handle it right.

[mwillems]

I always hated when teams would clearly favor one driver over the other, especially when it is done early in the season or when there is no need.

This is a similar situation. Verstappen is so far away and so many points are still available that I don't think destroying team unity is worth it. Norris made it harder than he should have, they obviously had an agreement before the race that they will protect against undercut by pitting the second driver first but that they will swap the positions back.

Btw what a great problem to have. What a difference a year and a half makes.

Yep, there is no reason to be favouring Norris at this point, he hasn't done enough to warrant a complete focus on his points this early in the season and the team want to look after someone they think is going to be a big prospect and is only 40 points behind Lando.

That's no disrespect to Lando, he's having a great season. They have both stepped up this year. These guys are top and this is why it is so important to manage them well. As much as some people want to pretend that what happened isn't an issue, the team have to do a much better job of managing these drivers than they did this weekend. The closer the team get to a WDC, the harder it will be to manage two close drivers. So just don't do anything to upset them both when you don't need to!

As you say, what a position to be in though. It's only going to get tougher, however. By the start of next season, Oscar needs to be very close Lando's level and Lando needs to convert poles into wins. Nowhere to hide at the front.


p.s. Don't know who was talking about WDC vs WCC, but yeah, the WDC is by far more prestigious. The team do care about WCC, particularly Mclaren who've won neither for such a long time. But the perennial winners over the years got the expensive champagne out for the drivers champion, and kept the sparkling wine in the chiller for the constructors.

Not sure why, to be honest, but it something I have seen many times.

[Hoffman900]

The real money for the teams is the WCC as their payout is linked to that.

Remember, Mclaren has foreign investors who want to see a return. A higher payout is less money they need to invest in (and more they take out as profit), more money sponsors pay, and higher profit the investors make.

And investor profit is all about what F1 is now in the Concorde / cost cap era. The cost ceiling is set, and everyone on top of that is investor profit.

Of course, WDC gets the headlines, but WCC pays the bills.

[billamend]

I hope Norris either puts his foot down and demands to have priority, or thinks about his future at the team.

To carry the team on his back for so long and then be treated like that is insane.

[taperoo2k]

Verstappen is many more points ahead of Lando, with a lot more races to go. 2021 is irrelevant here. McLaren are ahead of schedule in terms of challenging for titles, 2025 was the goal.

It matters because you’re telling me that WCC is the most important. And i’m saying that no one cares for the WCC, not even the teams.

For the teams? It absolutely is the most important championship from the prize money, CFD/wind tunnel time and where they are in the pitlane point of view. If McLaren wanted to win the drivers title, they'd have let Lando win the race.

[Dimond]

To carry the team on his back for so long

He was paid very well for his duty

treated like that

I hope next time in the same situation the team will pit Piastri first and let Hamilton undercut Lando. It would be a much better treatment than securing his P2 by placing him at the front

thinks about his future at the team.

for sure he will receive a much better treatment in any other team. Red Bull, for example.

[mwillems]

The real money for the teams is the WCC as their payout is linked to that.

Remember, Mclaren has foreign investors who want to see a return. A higher payout is less money they need to invest in (and more they take out as profit), more money sponsors pay, and higher profit the investors make.

And investor profit is all about what F1 is now in the Concorde / cost cap era. The cost ceiling is set, and everyone on top of that is investor profit.

Of course, WDC gets the headlines, but WCC pays the bills.

Yeah the investors definitely want some money back given how much they have supported not only the team and the Automotive group.

But last year RB got 9m more than Merc with a season that was ridiculously dominant. RB got £22m more than Mclaren who finished fourth. There will be sponsors payouts too, but most likely for both standings. But is this offset by the glamour of a WDC bringing in greater sponsorship?

I'm not sure where the numbers lie, but I don't feel that the WCC is a gamechanger compared to the WDC in terms of money. Especially since you are talking about finishing either 1st or 2nd in the constructors with a drivers champion so you're probably not losing many millions.

Mclaren racing, as an entity including their other series, became self sustainable in the previous financial year, so Zak Brown has said. Doesn't mean they are making much money of course, but they are at least no longer requiring support in FY 2023. This year will see a bigger driver wage bill but income should be significantly up.

Not sure why Stella is more focussed on the WCC, but he has a different focus than many people in the sport, this focus has transformed Mclaren and the WCC is the team championship, so I guess, why not.

When I was younger I would support the driver more than the team, now it is the other way round and I see drivers as employees, so I'm happy to prioritise a WCC over WDC. That said, I'd dearly love to see Lando, or if not him then Oscar, win a WDC.