2016 McLaren F1 Team - Honda

[max_speed]

Well he passed Hamilton at the start at spa, and gained more places then him on the opening lap. He just has a way of not getting bunched up and finding a way through the bunched up cars.

the more i see state of vettel the more i get convinced that he is for sure one of the best F1 driver of all times , consistently delivering more than car can.. problem is he still sits far away from having a championship winning car.

[hemichromis]

What an awesome start Alonso did!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU7RkMWbFvw

He is absolutely mighty on the first lap. He's notably better than most on heavy fuel

I take a few leafs from him and also try round the outside when sim racing. It actually works pretty well. Everyone bunches up on the racing line and the inside trying not to bang into each other and you just go round the outside of about 5 people

I think part of it is that if he sees an incident in the first corner he goes straight off track knowing he won't be penalised. Hamilton did the same in Spa. The less experienced try to find a way around on track.

[F1NAC]

Well he didnt gained anything with that

[bauc]

I asked a friend in the know and he states that to do Pre-Chamber and Trick Injector this year must also change everything else to get max benefit.They do not have enough tokens to do it 100% correct and about everything behind the driver would need be redesign.So tokens and time was their enemy!

I hope that means they have been doing a lot of testing!
My worry is that Honda may come back with a powerful engine but having changed layout substantially lack the reliability of the others.

That is exactly what Honda have said few weeks ago, we are going to match the leading PU with power next year but we are not sure if we can match its reliability

http://www.thisisf1.com/2016/09/27/in-2 ... a-f1-boss/

[Andres125sx]

If they match Mercedes perfomance next season I wouldn´t bother it we see some smoke/flames from time to time, as that would mean they can, at least, compete for victories and podiums. That´d be great for 2017 I think

[Pierce89]

He´s always been really good at the starts and first laps, but IMO this season is specially doable because with previous cars like those great 05 and 06 Renaults he had a car with very good traction, while this MP4-31, apart from a ´poor´ PU, has a clear weak point at traction as we´ve seen on several tracks (Monaco, Singapore...) so he´s doing great starts with a car wich shouldn´t be too strong at the starts.

The mp4 31 has great traction to my understanding. Now Alonso REALLY lacked traction at Ferrari and still was incredible on 1st lap.

[mclaren111]

Pierce89:
The mp4 31 has great traction to my understanding. Now Alonso REALLY lacked traction at Ferrari and still was incredible on 1st lap.

My understanding is the opposite. Charun Chandok said at Singapore GP that due to Honda PU's poor driveability traction is still a big problem for McLaren.

[diffuser]

Pierce89:
The mp4 31 has great traction to my understanding. Now Alonso REALLY lacked traction at Ferrari and still was incredible on 1st lap.

My understanding is the opposite. Charun Chandok said at Singapore GP that due to Honda PU's poor driveability traction is still a big problem for McLaren.

That's sounds like he's using the PU as the issue for traction. I've never heard that before...... I'm with pierce89...I heard that the rear traction was good but they needed a little more mechanical grip.

[diffuser]

I hope J-Damper part 2 is in the making to counter Merc's hydraulic linked suspension [-o<

J-Damper and Fric have both been outlawed.

Dudes, every car has had a J damer for years. Its an inerter.

Sorry mixed up Mass Damper and J-Damper.

[OviJohn]

If they match Mercedes perfomance next season I wouldn´t bother it we see some smoke/flames from time to time, as that would mean they can, at least, compete for victories and podiums. That´d be great for 2017 I think

Ditto!

And remember that good old F1 saying : "Its easier to get an unrealiable fast car reliable, than a slow realible car faster"

[Andres125sx]

Pierce89:
The mp4 31 has great traction to my understanding. Now Alonso REALLY lacked traction at Ferrari and still was incredible on 1st lap.

My understanding is the opposite. Charun Chandok said at Singapore GP that due to Honda PU's poor driveability traction is still a big problem for McLaren.

Agree, DelaRosa made a nice comparison at Singapore GP showing most cars going out of slow corners, and it was obvious McLaren was missing traction compared to others

I must admit that sort of comparisons is always dependand on the driving mode the driver is using (aggresive, conservative...) but I think the comparison was done with the fast Q laps, but not completely sure tbh

[godlameroso]

Suzuka only really has two places where you're grip limited. The exit of the hairpin and Casio triangle. Other than that it's all aero and overall grunt. Some might argue exit of spoon and Degner 2, but I disagree as both exits depend more on aero than mechanical grip.

[mclaren111]

Motorsport.com
Fernando Alonso has been given the green light to race Honda’s updated engine at the Japanese Grand Prix, following encouraging results from testing it in Malaysia last weekend.

Glad to hear. Now they can do a direct comparison with old unit in JB's car !!

[proteus]

It looks like he has another turbo engaged during the first lap. The car itself sounds a bit different, especially the gear changing, or it is just me? It sounds more grittier to my ears.

[Postmoe]

Well he passed Hamilton at the start at spa, and gained more places then him on the opening lap. He just has a way of not getting bunched up and finding a way through the bunched up cars.

Alonso has improved a lot his sliding and attack technique since a couple of seasons. He is now very good at managing those scenarios where the driver needs to keep traction and smooth trajectory over everyting else. There must be a lot of roundabouts in his way to work, no other explanation.