Mclaren Mercedes 2014

[Avocado]

Maybe they can give button some other role in McLaren. Maybe something like what Nikki Lauda has Mercedes.

That would be great!

[Richard]

Button is no Lauda. Button's a genial chap, not a blunt talking fixer. His future will follow the Coulthard/Haikenen template.

[ringo]

Button is still worth his weight. Kevin will be the one more liekly dropped.
However looking at the trends, ferrai have been a better team than mclaren in the past 3 to 4 years. They have had better reliability, better operations, and somewhat on average better cars. I don't think Alonso is going to move to mclaren again.
even looking at 2014, Ferrari is doing a better job than mclaren.

[trinidefender]

Can I take a bet against anybody that the lineup for next year will look exactly how it is looking now?

[akshat21]

Button is still worth his weight. Kevin will be the one more liekly dropped.
However looking at the trends, ferrai have been a better team than mclaren in the past 3 to 4 years. They have had better reliability, better operations, and somewhat on average better cars. I don't think Alonso is going to move to mclaren again.
even looking at 2014, Ferrari is doing a better job than mclaren.

I agree. Ferrari has had better track side operations. The problems for both both the teams us their design offices and in case of Ferrari engines.

Where I think McLaren hold the edge is that they will have a bespoke engine. Hopefully, Honda will make a good enough engine to be on par with Merc. Also. The design office changes will take at least a year to bite..

So. At the moment. For me. Both team are even Stevens.

If Alonso hence does decides to go to mecca. It must probably be because of other reasons such as team politics, guarantees, etc. Along with engine figures.. And maybe a huge paycheck.

[Cold Fussion]

How can you get more bespoke engine than what Ferrari has? Their engine department is across the building from their chassis department, and it is focused solely on Ferrari and not anyone else.

[akshat21]

How can you get more bespoke engine than what Ferrari has? Their engine department is across the building from their chassis department, and it is focused solely on Ferrari and not anyone else.

McLaren now knows where Ferrari and Renault went wrong (maybe not with 100℅ certainty). They also know the strengths of the Mercedes engine.

Hence its a safe assumption mclaren and Honda would have learned from the mistakes.

Also remember that Honda will still have all their tokens left at the end of 2015. Which means that even if they think that the engine is a little sub par. They can still change 48℅ of it.

The engine will be bespoke as now the engine team in Japan and chassis team in the UK will be building in unison. So they won't have the same kind of packaging problems as they did this year.

[lio007]

Also remember that Honda will still have all their tokens left at the end of 2015. Which means that even if they think that the engine is a little sub par. They can still change 48℅ of it.

I don't think so. As I understand the regulations it does not depend on when you enter the championship. So for 2016 it is the same for all the PU-manufacturers: they can change max. 38% of the PU.
So in that case Honda can't carry over unused tokens.

[ScottB]

I hope they don't drop kmag. I rather like his driving style and attitude.

Maybe they can give button some other role in McLaren. Maybe something like what Nikki Lauda has Mercedes.

I think he'd spend his retirement doing triathlons, presumably marrying his other half and managing Vandorne and any other youngsters he has an interest in.

Doesn't strike me as the type to want to get involved in running a team, at least not any time soon certainly.

[Cold Fussion]

How can you get more bespoke engine than what Ferrari has? Their engine department is across the building from their chassis department, and it is focused solely on Ferrari and not anyone else.

McLaren now knows where Ferrari and Renault went wrong (maybe not with 100℅ certainty). They also know the strengths of the Mercedes engine.

Hence its a safe assumption mclaren and Honda would have learned from the mistakes.

Neither of these things have anything to do with whether or not it is bespoke. The Ferrari engine is bespoke, it just so happened to be worse than that of Mercedes.

[mclaren_mircea]

Another source about the fact that Honda is very late with the engine. All the previous sources and rumours indicated that they are very late, and any of them that they are on track and on the schedule except one PR statements by Aray. It's normal that he can't openly recognise their faillure with the engine.
According to Autosprint Honda is very late with the development of the engine (about 3-4 month behind their original schedule). They still didn't run a spec that will be run in 2015 and neither in combination with the ERS made my Mclaren Applied Techologies. Mclaren's part of the job isn't more acurate, because their's ERS have great reliability problems. Last years when the same amount of sources said Mercedes engine was stronger and that Renault had problems they were right in the end.
Source: http://autosprint.corrieredellosport.it ... nso/19206/

P.S Ron should have let Daimler buy Mclaren in 2009, like VW took Lamborghini. That would not have been something more beutiful than to be part of Mercedes-Benz family and to be their works team in F1. Now, Ron got what he looked for, Honda. Remember Honda's last engine in F1, the V8 compared with Mercedes's V8. Teribly mistake made by Ron. Mclaren Automotive coudl have existed as part of Mercedes Benz heritage and history

[bauc]

@mclaren_mircea - If the above written is indeed true why would they (Mclaren) say that it is possible to test the Honda package at the post-season AbuDabi test? I mean its less than 2 months from now so they (Honda) for sure can not make that time (3-4 months behind) by than right?

I know there are quite a lot rumors about the the returning of Honda to F1 but to say that Ron Dennis made a huge mistake by not selling MCL to Daimler is a total joke.

[skoop]

@mclaren_mircea - If the above written is indeed true why would they (Mclaren) say that it is possible to test the Honda package at the post-season AbuDabi test? I mean its less than 2 months from now so they (Honda) for sure can not make that time (3-4 months behind) by than right?

I know there are quite a lot rumors about the the returning of Honda to F1 but to say that Ron Dennis made a huge mistake by not selling MCL to Daimler is a total joke.

IF (and that's a big if) the rumours are true, mclaren has to react (bluff) somehow. otherwise there's no chance of attracting/vettel/alonso/hamilton or any other good driver.
But i can't imagine that they're that far behind. as far as i've heared honda has a really huge budget and is really ambitious about their engine. On the other side, renault and ferrari were, too.
exiting times

[basti313]

Well, at least Renault had no budget. That is the only thing to catch a straw....
Everything else....
-one year less track experience
-one year less experience in power distribution
-one year less experience in chassis integration
-many more faults to make than Renault and Ferrari already ruled out

I do not know why any good driver should go there except for the money Honda can offer.

[mclaren_mircea]

Excellent article about Mclaren, Honda and the engine on Omnicorse: http://www.omnicorse.it/magazine/42162/ ... -abu-dhabi

Summary:
- they will test the engine in Abu Dhaby
- the architecture of the engine is somewhere in between Mercedes and Ferrari. A more compact engine than Mercedes but not that extreme as the Ferrari V6.
- the engine on late in schedule
- they are using huge resources from across all over Japan to have the engine in November at Yas Marina
- the chassis made by Mclaren to test the engine in Abu Dhabi is almost finished
-MAT is trying something extreme with the ERS, unlike Mercedes.
-Little real work on integration because Milton Keynes is not yet ready until December 2014.