2024 Mclaren Formula 1 Team

[mwillems]

Oscar is not really a master of over takes at this point, as far as I can see. The move itself is only one part of it. Everything else around it, the approach work to manage the car into an overtaking opportunity while keeping tyre temps and life under control has work to be done. But it is all stuff that is gained with experience. He certainly looks good at taking an opportunity, but he needs all of the approach work around it.

But certainly around qualifying Oscar is not only consistently behind Lando, but also consistently close. You shouldn't really look at one side of the equation without the other, but plenty will as it's a nice headline (Here's looking at you, Lucky!). The average gap in Qualifying since and including the Miami upgrade, is .123 seconds. The median is .08 seconds. From that perspective, qualifying performance looks very close.

[geogate]

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1055025/1 ... ilton-link

Interesting if this was to be true

I would question how much difference a race engineer makes - Sure, it is an important role, but the skills required to do it are not in short supply.
I think Stella should be more prepared to step in over the radio when circumstances call for a stamp of authority

[ScottR267]

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1055025/1 ... ilton-link

Interesting if this was to be true

I would question how much difference a race engineer makes - Sure, it is an important role, but the skills required to do it are not in short supply.
I think Stella should be more prepared to step in over the radio when circumstances call for a stamp of authority

I believe he is also head of race engineering alongside his role as Max’s race engineer

[Emag]

They have to try and poach Hannah Schmidt if they can. GP works well with Max, not guaranteed he would just as well with other drivers.

[Ben1980]

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/what-p ... -at-monza/

Still seems a bit messy in-house, and more may come out.

I've not heard the podcast though.

[mwillems]

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/what-p ... -at-monza/

Still seems a bit messy in-house, and more may come out.

I've not heard the podcast though.

It's just backing up what has been said by some. Oscar was completely within his rights according to those in the team, but somehow Lando came out from the discussion of how to race thinking differently. Zak Brown already confirmed that as far as the team are concerned, Oscar is in the clear having done nothing wrong.

it does seem that there will be some clarification now about how the drivers can fight, but seems like it will only favour the driver who is legitimately in front, which may or may not be Lando.

[Ben1980]

I think I've said, that move was always going to have an impact back on the team and how it deals going forward. Not specifically for an individual but for the team, which is their focus.

On another point...

If they change rules for the Mclaren front wing, would it impact anyone's view on how they have performed. If performance comes from something changed?

[mwillems]

They won't, the wing is legal. I expect Ferrari and RB to bring something.

[BMMR61]

They won't, the wing is legal. I expect Ferrari and RB to bring something.

Precisely. So much ventilated about, now McLaren are in their present position. Better get used to it I guess. The team orders discussion, conspiracies about Webber contract etc. Personally I'm going to enjoy the season win or lose. McLaren are a year ahead of schedule!

[Waz]

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1055025/1 ... ilton-link

Interesting if this was to be true

I would question how much difference a race engineer makes - Sure, it is an important role, but the skills required to do it are not in short supply.
I think Stella should be more prepared to step in over the radio when circumstances call for a stamp of authority

Greatly underestimate the role of the R.E.

You clearly haven't paid any attention to the clown show at Ferrari if you believe Race Engineers are just a Plug and Play accessory.

There's also good reason why top drivers persuade their R.E. to switch teams when they do

[Ben1980]

They won't, the wing is legal. I expect Ferrari and RB to bring something.

It's legal as of now I guess. Didn't Aston have something legal until it wasn't.

( to be fair, it's all well above my knowledge level, flexi this or that)

[mwillems]

They won't, the wing is legal. I expect Ferrari and RB to bring something.

It's legal as of now I guess. Didn't Aston have something legal until it wasn't.

( to be fair, it's all well above my knowledge level, flexi this or that)

Nah, The FIA have officially deemed all current wings as within regs so we're good.

But the only question ever really being asked is whether RB/Ferrari have to design a new wing or Mclaren/Mercedes have to design a new wing. Fortunately it isn't us and the other teams can spend their development time and budget cap.

The only worry is that there are potentially good gains for both teams. Particularly if Ferrari are updating their Wind Tunnel to be able to test Yaw, we can expect that to make a big difference. With that in Mind, Ferrari may not bring anything this year.

And to be honest, with the short number of races left, unless it has already been designed, I don't Expect RB to either, since they have balance issues to figure out before they start fundamentally changing the airflow from the front.

[bananapeel23]

They won't, the wing is legal. I expect Ferrari and RB to bring something.

It's legal as of now I guess. Didn't Aston have something legal until it wasn't.

( to be fair, it's all well above my knowledge level, flexi this or that)

My understanding is that what Aston Martin was doing was more egregious, while the current flexiwings are still moving a lot, they are nowhere near what Aston was doing last year. Aston completely fell off a cliff when the crackdowns came. Currently even the teams without the flexiwings are competitive, so clearly they aren't massively impactful. They likely just help shed some drag at high speed and consequently improve handling at low speed. The impact of these wings seems to pretty much start and end with the front wing, with no real impact downstream. Teams can choose to build a flexiwing and reap the rewards, assuming they feel it is worth the investment.

Meanwhile the 2023 Aston wing clearly flexed in a way that improved the flow downstream and improved the performance of the floor and bodywork. The flexiwing was a fundamental part of their car concept, which meant that the other teams couldn't replicate it in-season even if they knew how, thus it was banned. So essentially the wing flexed in a way that made other parts of the car perform better, while the current wings flex in a way that makes the wing perform better, if that makes sense.

At least that is my understanding of why the Aston Martin wing was banned and why the 2024 iterations have not.

[mwillems]

Mystic Mika has rubbed his magic balls again, and this is what came out...

[CjC]

Has he seen the data for this ‘second major update’ or something? Like he did for the Austria update??