2018 McLaren F1 Team - Renault

[cyclon]

Guys common.
It's a completely different ballgame this year. For the Team, for the drivers, for the fans, for everybody.
No matter what will happen in Bahrain we are gonna watch the gp, with a level of excitement we never had in the last 3 years. And that stands for the whole season actually.You now have a realistic chance to do well. Its in Mclarens hands to do well. They are not in that helpless situation any more.
All Mclaren fans should be optimistic. IMO at Barcelona we will know if Mclaren has a realistic chance of catching RB this year. But even if Mclaren dosn't catch RB this year , it gonna be a good season for Mclaren.

Right On !

[adrianjordan]

You can call me what ever you like, Ex Mclaren fan or what ever (OK it may be temporary disorientation and I will drift back home) but the problems are not what is or is not happening, its the way things are (or are not happening). Mclaren used to be so sharp you could cut yourself thinking of them. Now they seem to be running in circles screaming and getting nothing done.

Example. The pitstop fracas. Ok. nothing some one has not done before, but when did Mclaren do it before? The poor design of the rear lift. Mclaren of old would never have let that slip through as far as real testing.

Mclaren used to be the example of 'getting it right' now they often seem like a first year team. If it was someone else, I may cut them a little slack, but it is Mclaren so I will not. Its like watching your hero get humiliated. Is it Bullier? Not alone. There has been a huge gap left by Ron Dennis and even to an extent bu Whitmarsh that has not been filled.
Goss is an engineer, not an administrator, Neile seems like a good man but again a design man. They lack a general who can make things happen. Norbert Huge where are you when you are needed. Rob Smedly would have been a perfect fit there too.



(exit rant mode)

I do have to go back to 2011 or 12 when Button had a bung left in his sidepod in Monaco and also had a wheel not fitted properly at Silverstone of all places...

[Andres125sx]

It sounds like squeaky bum time in Mclaren. Haas has nowhere near the budget or personnel of Macca yet they are ahead. Why make those promises preseason and now blame the failure on reality of having less resources? To add insult, EB claims Renault have more people to justify not leaping them, seriously? I guess the engines are made by robots.

Ahead of who? Not even ahead of STR actually, and the important position are at the end of the season. If you will I can bet something with you McLaren will beat Haas by a good margin at the end of the season.

Not ahead now, and not ahead at the end of the season so, what are you talking about?.

What failure? 5th on their very first races with a new PU manufacturer is a failure? Beating one RBR on their very first race with the PU they´re using for a lot of seasons is a failure?


Look like some people had their rants prepared before the race, and they didn´t even bothered to check the race....

[restless]

You both have extreme opinions.
Haas were ahead - in qualy and racepace. Alonso finished 5th only for 1-time problems fixing nuts @pitstop. I doubt we'll see again same error.
Even then, blaming for failure is too harsh. Many people had warned that running @RedBull level from start of the season is impossible and Boulier is idiot for claiming such things months ago

[Ground Effect]

You both have extreme opinions.
Haas were ahead - in qualy and racepace. Alonso finished 5th only for 1-time problems fixing nuts @pitstop. I doubt we'll see again same error.
Even then, blaming for failure is too harsh. Many people had warned that running @RedBull level from start of the season is impossible and Boulier is idiot for claiming such things months ago

That was their target, it still is. Quiet frankly, if Mclaren had come out and said "we want to be fourth, we can't beat Red Bull because they have used Renault forever and they make the best chassis" They would probably be worse off now. Instead, they went aggressive, made errors, which they are trying to correct. It all points to determination. Like we've said, this was only race one. This time last year, who would have benefited from 2 lead cars dropping out to pick up a 5th place. Maybe, Force India? Williams? Renault? Or Toro Rosso. This year it was Mclaren. This time last year would Fernando have been able to hold off Verstappen, even at Melbourne for 15 laps? We're not saying it's time for Mclaren to pat themselves on the back or that they deserve awards. There are things to be disappointed about, but there are things to be encouraged about. The updates are coming for Bahrain and China... New nose in Barcelona. Delays are due to diversion of attention (and probably funds) to correct errors. So assuming things go according to plan, by the time engine 2 is ready, hopefully Renault will unlock more performance, and Mclaren will have a better car.

[restless]

I'd be happy if Mclaren becomes team #4 after summer break... achieving it before that is unrealistic imo. Cudos if they make it real.

[mclaren111]

Guys common.
It's a completely different ballgame this year. For the Team, for the drivers, for the fans, for everybody.
No matter what will happen in Bahrain we are gonna watch the gp, with a level of excitement we never had in the last 3 years. And that stands for the whole season actually.You now have a realistic chance to do well. Its in Mclarens hands to do well. They are not in that helpless situation any more.
All Mclaren fans should be optimistic. IMO at Barcelona we will know if Mclaren has a realistic chance of catching RB this year. But even if Mclaren dosn't catch RB this year , it gonna be a good season for Mclaren.

I agree.

Boullier must just keep his mouth shut and focus on getting the job done.

[Ground Effect]

Guys common.
It's a completely different ballgame this year. For the Team, for the drivers, for the fans, for everybody.
No matter what will happen in Bahrain we are gonna watch the gp, with a level of excitement we never had in the last 3 years. And that stands for the whole season actually.You now have a realistic chance to do well. Its in Mclarens hands to do well. They are not in that helpless situation any more.
All Mclaren fans should be optimistic. IMO at Barcelona we will know if Mclaren has a realistic chance of catching RB this year. But even if Mclaren dosn't catch RB this year , it gonna be a good season for Mclaren.

I agree.

Boullier must just keep his mouth shut and focus on getting the job done.

That would help

[Xero]

We can't forget that Boullier has an obligation as team principal to conduct interviews with the press. Despite where McLaren have been over the years, the press have had a huge focus towards them, arguably the biggest of all the teams. When he's constantly berated with questions of failure and underachievement, of course he will defend his team and talk of them in a more positive light. Again, because of that intense focus, his answers are either coming across as arrogant or over-optimistic to some people. Whatever he says will be misconstrued to make him look bad, he's in an impossible position. It only gets worse when you get interviewers, like in that article a few pages back, who aggressively attack him with blatant negativity. The team are chasing sponsors, he simply has to respond in the way he does.

[the EDGE]

I don’t think Boullier has done or said anything wrong

They had a good chassis last year, RB have just made huge strides over the winter whilst McLaren have been intergrating the new PU

They have done great in Oz with no updates when they been written off by many, I think for the 3 leading midfield teams there was very little difference. The updates are on their way and given McLarens correlation history there’s a good chance they make a decent step & be leading the midfield by Spain

Challenge Redbull this year? Maybe not but a solid 4th is certainly within range, and that will make me 1 happy McLaren fan after 4 years of pain

Also I believe Boullier was the one who made the Renaul call first, turns out to have been the right decision & he’s one of the reasons Alonsos still with the team. His job is to keep the staff motivated & loyal and make strategic decisions. I haven’t seen anyone of any importance leave like they did under Dennis, so he can’t be doing too bad

[McMika98]

]

Ahead of who? Not even ahead of STR actually, and the important position are at the end of the season. If you will I can bet something with you McLaren will beat Haas by a good margin at the end of the season.

Not ahead now, and not ahead at the end of the season so, what are you talking about?.

What failure? 5th on their very first races with a new PU manufacturer is a failure? Beating one RBR on their very first race with the PU they´re using for a lot of seasons is a failure?


Look like some people had their rants prepared before the race, and they didn´t even bothered to check the race....

Dude take a chill pill.What rants? Did u watch Haas outqualify Mclaren and lead then in race? Thats reality admitted by EB and Mclaren for now. Yes they can and will do something about it. But after all the preseason hype they have been suprised by the competition so far by their own admission.
Anyway if u are so confident then lets make it fair. Revisit the landscape at the end of season and see where they are against Red Bull and Renault cause thats the competition.

[adrianjordan]

You both have extreme opinions.
Haas were ahead - in qualy and racepace. Alonso finished 5th only for 1-time problems fixing nuts @pitstop. I doubt we'll see again same error.
Even then, blaming for failure is too harsh. Many people had warned that running @RedBull level from start of the season is impossible and Boulier is idiot for claiming such things months ago

To be fair, there have been a lot of people (not saying you're one of them) on here suggesting that Mclaren will keep making the same mistakes again and again, so why should they and not Haas??

[zoroastar]

We can't forget that Boullier has an obligation as team principal to conduct interviews with the press. Despite where McLaren have been over the years, the press have had a huge focus towards them, arguably the biggest of all the teams. When he's constantly berated with questions of failure and underachievement, of course he will defend his team and talk of them in a more positive light. Again, because of that intense focus, his answers are either coming across as arrogant or over-optimistic to some people. Whatever he says will be misconstrued to make him look bad, he's in an impossible position. It only gets worse when you get interviewers, like in that article a few pages back, who aggressively attack him with blatant negativity. The team are chasing sponsors, he simply has to respond in the way he does.

i agree, in some peoples eyes, mclaren will never do anything right until they win a WC, and even then somebody will find a reason why they didnt do it right. its way too early to know whether boullier is the right/wrong guy for the job since the team have dealt with 3 years of PU problems. they havent had a chance since hes been at the team, and it hasnt been his fault. if they move nowhere between now and the end of the year, then that question should be asked. until then people need to stop reading into every twisted quote/clickbate put out by the media and get off their back until there is a reason not to.

[diffuser]

It wouldn't be the first time Haas has a good Austrailia and then disappear into a heap of brake problems I'm still not convinced they've resolved those issues. We'll see in Bahrain. Last year they struggled mightily in the braking zones at the end of the long straights.

[the EDGE]

McLaren explain Melbourne FP1 issue

What were originally described as exhaust problems led to its cars completing just six laps in the first hour of free practice, but this a problem found to be caused by some unexpected material in a duct burning.

"It was nothing at all, actually," said Boullier when asked about the problem.

"It was a new air duct, we changed the material and in this material there was some flammable tissue.

"So every time the car came back to the garage there was a little flame and we didn't know where it was coming from until all the papers were burned then it was finished."

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mcla ... s-1020322/