2018 McLaren F1 Team - Renault

[makecry]

Might be worse than that if he can see Alonso's data and see how he does it but just can't bring himself to match it. Alonso seems to have an ability to destroy his teammates with the exception being Hamilton

Don’t want to start the debate, but if Alonso had stayed at mclaren in 2008, I am sure he would have gotten the hang of Lewis. That Michelin to bridgestone change caught him off guard but yeah, it’s baseless speculation at best on my part.

I remember when thEre were the usual suspects here and on the internet who were saying Stoffel would give Fernando a hard time.

But the truth is Fernando is getting older. Age always catches up with us, there is going to be a time when a newcomer will finally eclipse his speed, it doesn’t really mean anything apart from the fact that we are all human.

[zoroastar]

alonso levitates, so he has a weight advantage. its been proven : o

F.A. should have a line of jokes like chuck norris

[diffuser]

alonso levitates, so he has a weight advantage. its been proven : o

LOL

[zoroastar]

Might be worse than that if he can see Alonso's data and see how he does it but just can't bring himself to match it. Alonso seems to have an ability to destroy his teammates with the exception being Hamilton

Don’t want to start the debate, but if Alonso had stayed at mclaren in 2008, I am sure he would have gotten the hang of Lewis. That Michelin to bridgestone change caught him off guard but yeah, it’s baseless speculation at best on my part.

I remember when thEre were the usual suspects here and on the internet who were saying Stoffel would give Fernando a hard time.

But the truth is Fernando is getting older. Age always catches up with us, there is going to be a time when a newcomer will finally eclipse his speed, it doesn’t really mean anything apart from the fact that we are all human.

truthfully, i dont think that the senses/reflexes go at an age before most F1 drivers retire. it has more to do with staying focused and interested in it. i doubt that alonso will stay in the sport long enough for "old age" to do him in. unless he takes a very steep slide in the next 2 or 3 years. even then, it will most likely from being burned out on the whole thing.

[Manoah2u]

Agreed. People tend to point at Schumacher and say "see? age." which is wrong as Schumacher's less successful (which also was too short) second stint was because of his 'handicap' after the moto accident which left him with permanent (artery and motoric) damage as has been revealed after his ski-ing accident by his former doctor.
Also, plenty of 'senior' racing drivers in classes like Indy, WEC, LeMans and all very fast and capable.
The thing is, as mentioned above, it's surely not down to the driver being 'worn' , rather indeed the motivation.

Young people, let's say 18 to 26, stand wholly different in life and have an abundance of energy. After being 30 plus, that changes rather naturally, and changes your perceptions of life, goals, what's important, etc. And yes , physique changes too. You get tired faster than 20, so offcourse it plays a role but i wouldn't say predominantly.

I'm a few years 30 plus now, and i can say i stand completely different in life compared to when i was 20. these guys have essentially the same job all their life, but except for their job, all around changes completely. it's impossible not having effect on your 'job' what happens in your private life - and vise versa offcourse.

And then i also think politics play a big role too. If you're fresh in F1, a young gun, you are full of energy, guns blazing, PR this, PR that, talk like the team wants, sure. You're just happy you are in F1 and have a shot at things and if lucky even get a stellar paycheck. 10 years later, living life in the fast lane becomes pretty boring and a drag.

And at some point, no money in the world, no prospect of wins or championships, can keep you doing something you deep down really don't want anymore for quite a while (think about Jenson Button). for some people (blind) hope keeps them going longer, but deep down, they knew it. (Barrichello, Massa, Raikkonen, Grosjean).

[ALO_Power]

Well definitely age is a factor but in F1, if you manage to keep fit then you can still have it (or most of it).

[M840TR]

If I were Mclaren, I'd be more worried about 2019 regulation change than drivers

[M840TR]

https://www.racefans.net/2018/05/19/mcl ... er-latifi/
Also, a healthy dose of a couple hundred million pounds; maybe.

[kptaylor]

Yes, what does that Latifi-based investment into McLaren mean? I thought he had a spot locked down in Force India... So what, Lando & Latifi in McLaren now? What percentage does 200MM pounds invested (~880K shares) mean in terms of any controlling interest in McLaren?

[M840TR]

We'l have to wait for official confirmation to find out.

[mwillems]

According to the Financial Times, when Ron Dennis sold his stake in Mclaren, the entire business was valued at £2bn at that point.

[mclaren111]

https://www.racefans.net/2018/05/19/mcl ... er-latifi/
Also, a healthy dose of a couple hundred million pounds; maybe.

Most of it will go to pay Ron his £180m

[RonDennis]

Alonso cleary has a few years in him, but if I was McLaren I would put Norris in the second car after the summer. Vandoorne clearly can’t keep up with him.

[mclaren111]

Sky F1:

Barcelona Test best times

Driver Team Fastest Lap Tyres

1. Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:16.904 Supersofts
2. A Giovinazzi Ferrari 1:16.972 Hypersofts
3. Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:17.528 Hypersofts
4. Carlos Sainz Renault 1:17.562 Hypersofts
5. Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:17.659 Softs
6. Lando Norris McLaren 1:18.039 Softs
7. Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:18.274 Hypersofts
8. Nikita Mazepin Force India 1:18.344 Hypersofts
9. Romain Grosjean Haas 1:18.449 Hypersofts
10. Nicholas Latifi Force India 1:18.530 Hypersofts
11. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1.18.543 Mediums
12. Jack Aitken Renault 1:18.942 Mediums
13. S Vandoorne McLaren 1:18.981 Supersofts
14. Charles Leclerc Sauber 1:18.993 Hypersofts
15. Robert Kubica Williams 1:19.253 Hypersofts
16. Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:19.410 Mediums
17. A Giovinazzi Sauber 1:19.693 Hypersofts
18. Oliver Rowland Williams 1:20.009 Hypersofts
19. Jake Dennis Red Bull 1:20.440 Mediums
20. Sean Gelael Toro Rosso 1:20.763 Softs

Norris:
There are definitely things we need to improve and work on, but the car is still very good to drive. It does give me a lot of confidence to carry the throttle and I don't think I'm on the limit yet."

Norris ran both the old-spec and new versions during the test and believes if the team can combine the positives of both specs they will be able to find more pace.

"There are definitely some differences in the two specs - positive in many ways, but there are still some things with the old one that are also positive, so it's all about combining the two which will make the car even faster," he said.

Positive test and can't wait to see what is coming extra to Monaco

A lot will be track specific of course, but still.

[M840TR]

https://investors.mclaren.com/article/e ... ren-group/
Official confirmation