2016 McLaren F1 Team - Honda

[F1Arg]

Perhaps it's not a talent pool issue but one coming from organization design.

[DiogoBrand]

Well, at least now nobody's gonna try and lynch me when I say that McLaren's chassis isn't as good as they make it sound.
And maybe, just maybe, now they're gonna try to work more on racing than on optimistic talk .

[adrianjordan]

Been thinking about Ron's statement this weekend about Vandoorne being locked down to Mclaren.

It basically implies that Jensen will leave at the end of the season, since Alonso has a contract in place. This seems strange, since Ron has been so overly confident that Mclaren currently has the best driver line-up. Why change when there is nothing wrong in that respect?

And then the other thing.. Ron has always said Mclaren want the best possible drivers that are available to them at any moment in time. Why aren't we hearing rumors connecting Rosberg to Mclaren then? Surely he would be the best option for Mclaren to benchmark Alonso against. Alonso's racecraft is beyond doubt, but his ultimate speed isn't. Mclaren needs to become stronger in qualifying, which Rosberg could do for them.

Going back to Vandoorne, if Mclaren really thinks he is the future, why not give him more (any!) FP1 outings to prepare him for next year.

Rosberg's Overrated...Any driver would be winning championships on that Mercedes

Depends which Mercedes they have...Rosberg's or Hamilton's

[Sayeman]

"McLaren still struggling with high tyre pressures, Boullier admits"

“We are working on it, trying to work around this very high starting pressure, which is hurting clearly the grip of the car, but also makes your tyres grain easier than necessary.”

[chengzhongyi2013]

Alonso must have repaid probably half of his salary this year so far with the 5th and 6th place finishes eh?

What a drive, holding off Rosberg for 40 laps in an inferior car and tyre combination

[trinidefender]

So P5 and P9. Although I followed on autosport live and others as I don't have a TV at work it seemed that the way Alonso was able to hold off means that the car must have come together during the race. Wonder if McLaren had partially sorted the understeer issue with setup changes.

Good call on Buttons side of the garage with the early change to inters.

For those who watched it, what did the cars look like on the track?

Good race boys.

[Sayeman]

I think Alonso would've finished higher if Massa didn't hold them up for 7-8 laps..
But awesome race indeed!
Very Happy for Mclaren-Honda, Alonso and Button.

[diffuser]

So P5 and P9. Although I followed on autosport live and others as I don't have a TV at work it seemed that the way Alonso was able to hold off means that the car must have come together during the race. Wonder if McLaren had partially sorted the understeer issue with setup changes.

Good call on Buttons side of the garage with the early change to inters.

For those who watched it, what did the cars look like on the track?

Good race boys.

Alonzo was way off the pace of the cars in front of him(over a second). So he benifited from getting ahead in the pit stops and then nobody being able to pass him.

[GoranF1]

https://twitter.com/_eI14/status/736930485037895680
ALO: 'go to Canada with some improvements, especially on the issue of the engine, to see if we begin to use some tokens " #MONACO #McLAREN

[godlameroso]

The engine isn't going to save them, they need a breakthrough with the chassis, there's probably another second and a quarter waiting to be extracted from that refrigerator on wheels. I'm sure the car has good downforce but like it has been for the past few years, it's not efficient, too much drag, too peaky, too aero sensitive, with suspension that can't work the tires to save it's life. Why do the tires grain so heavily for them, because the drivers can't push, the car doesn't inspire confidence under braking. Maybe part of the reason is they have to lift and coast more than others, maybe the power unit and chassis aren't well integrated yet, or maybe their suspension is the problem. But it's a pattern I've seen since Australia, McLaren just keeps picking the wrong tires and ends up going like crap. Hopefully the can cure some of this gas guzzling in the next few rounds so the drivers aren't scared to dive bomb a corner and can make the front tires work.

[McG]

I still think the PU is the main issue affecting the whole package.

A decent result for Alonso though. Fingers crossed the Honda update allows for a better overall package and not just some power.

A sad mention for Williams who still don't have the downforce to compete at the front at these kind of tracks in these conditions.

[McG]

How did they look like crap today? Alonso finishing 5th is very respectable.

The engine isn't going to save them, they need a breakthrough with the chassis, there's probably another second and a quarter waiting to be extracted from that refrigerator on wheels. I'm sure the car has good downforce but like it has been for the past few years, it's not efficient, too much drag, too peaky, too aero sensitive, with suspension that can't work the tires to save it's life. Why do the tires grain so heavily for them, because the drivers can't push, the car doesn't inspire confidence under braking. Maybe part of the reason is they have to lift and coast more than others, maybe the power unit and chassis aren't well integrated yet, or maybe their suspension is the problem. But it's a pattern I've seen since Australia, McLaren just keeps picking the wrong tires and ends up going like crap. Hopefully the can cure some of this gas guzzling in the next few rounds so the drivers aren't scared to dive bomb a corner and can make the front tires work.

[Sayeman]

I still think the PU is the main issue affecting the whole package.
A decent result for Alonso though. Fingers crossed the Honda update allows for a better overall package and not just some power.
A sad mention for Williams who still don't have the downforce to compete at the front at these kind of tracks in these conditions.

Fingers crossed for some nice PU improvements in canada. If Renault can improve that PU for 3 tokens Honda might be able to do something similar although there are layout restrictions.
Anyway Boulier confirmed that the high tire pressure has been the main cuprite for lack of grip in Monaco not the drivability of the PU.

[godlameroso]

How did they look like crap today? Alonso finishing 5th is very respectable.

The engine isn't going to save them, they need a breakthrough with the chassis, there's probably another second and a quarter waiting to be extracted from that refrigerator on wheels. I'm sure the car has good downforce but like it has been for the past few years, it's not efficient, too much drag, too peaky, too aero sensitive, with suspension that can't work the tires to save it's life. Why do the tires grain so heavily for them, because the drivers can't push, the car doesn't inspire confidence under braking. Maybe part of the reason is they have to lift and coast more than others, maybe the power unit and chassis aren't well integrated yet, or maybe their suspension is the problem. But it's a pattern I've seen since Australia, McLaren just keeps picking the wrong tires and ends up going like crap. Hopefully the can cure some of this gas guzzling in the next few rounds so the drivers aren't scared to dive bomb a corner and can make the front tires work.

They're over half a second slower on pure pace than Force India and Torro Rosso. Maybe Alonso though it was pointless to push very hard and saved the engine, or had to fuel save, or only wanted to go fast enough to hold off Rosberg and not get lapped before the end of the race. He finished quite a long way off the leaders. I want them to do well, I like seeing McLaren improve, and it's obvious they have a mountain to climb. I would prefer them not to say overly optimistic statements, and let them pleasantly surprise us. Everything was fine until they started opening their mouths about how they're faster than Ferrari, they were a second off the pace at best.

[fellowhoodlums]

From the small piece of info here and on other sites, it looks like Canada is the first token spend. How many? well it sounds like they had options on the table and the decision is now made.

I am sure it's all with 2017 in mind, but if the heat recovery is improved then the next step is the Renault type PU improvement (pre-ignition?) which is for post SPA? If Renault can do 50bhp and become on a par with Merc then Honda can do the same and jump Ferrari.