[ 2020 ] Mclaren F1 Team - Renault

[LHamilton]

I caught something from Ted's Notebook. Otmar said that the only "just" thing would be for Carlos to be thrown out of the race (Incident was still under investigation at this point)

To me that's just cynical, unprofessional and you come out like a sore loser to be honest. Both drivers made no such comments. Perez congratulated McLaren and Stroll admitted that what Sainz did on the pitlane did not really impact him that much.

It just shows a lack of integrity and sportstmanship, especially considering the fact that McLaren has had no shame in admitting that their car hasn't been as fast as RP, but the most important thing. When things have gone wrong for their competitors, they have shown empathy. And when things have gone wrong for them, they have focused on themselves.

I think it was just a throw-away comment (hopefully) since he recognize that they should've had that 3rd place locked in due to the pace of the car. However, since they lost points for various reason (DNFs, penalty and performance of the drivers) he is probably really mad that they didn't get what was on paper a locked in 3rd place.

But I do agree that it was a bit of a bitter response from him. Because in no way should Sainz get thrown out from that. I wouldn't put to much attention to it. It was one of those "racing driver excuses" which tends to happen when you're somewhat mad and struggle to see things objectively. You could see that from the response from Stroll, who said that the incident didn't really cost them much.

In regards to McLaren 2021, I'm looking forward to see what Ricciardo can do in a Mercedes powered car. Might have a sniff at that 2nd spot if RB sticks with Albon and Ricciardo together with the Mercedes engine gets a smooth integration.

[_cerber1]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mcla ... n=widget-1

[diffuser]

Ironically Perez's retirement was a mgu-k failure (PU).

[Emag]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mcla ... n=widget-1

I know the hype is real at the moment, but realistically speaking, do you really expect them to close a gap of over a second per lap (race pace) on restricted regulations? You can expect at most 0.2 per lap from the engine (and that's being optimistic to be honest) assuming the integration comes with no compromises elsewhere. Can't imagine how they can gather a net gain of more than 0.8 seconds over the winter when they are barely allowed to change anything from this car.

[Macklaren]

For next year, the goal should be being able to keep up with the top-3 after lap 5 of a race. The car now is fast enough to stay in front of the chasing pack (even including the 2nd RBR at some races) but we need to stop that big gap emerging to the leaders.

[SmallSoldier]

I caught something from Ted's Notebook. Otmar said that the only "just" thing would be for Carlos to be thrown out of the race (Incident was still under investigation at this point)

To me that's just cynical, unprofessional and you come out like a sore loser to be honest. Both drivers made no such comments. Perez congratulated McLaren and Stroll admitted that what Sainz did on the pitlane did not really impact him that much.

It just shows a lack of integrity and sportstmanship, especially considering the fact that McLaren has had no shame in admitting that their car hasn't been as fast as RP, but the most important thing. When things have gone wrong for their competitors, they have shown empathy. And when things have gone wrong for them, they have focused on themselves.

I think it was just a throw-away comment (hopefully) since he recognize that they should've had that 3rd place locked in due to the pace of the car. However, since they lost points for various reason (DNFs, penalty and performance of the drivers) he is probably really mad that they didn't get what was on paper a locked in 3rd place.

But I do agree that it was a bit of a bitter response from him. Because in no way should Sainz get thrown out from that. I wouldn't put to much attention to it. It was one of those "racing driver excuses" which tends to happen when you're somewhat mad and struggle to see things objectively. You could see that from the response from Stroll, who said that the incident didn't really cost them much.

In regards to McLaren 2021, I'm looking forward to see what Ricciardo can do in a Mercedes powered car. Might have a sniff at that 2nd spot if RB sticks with Albon and Ricciardo together with the Mercedes engine gets a smooth integration.

We need to keep expectations in check, it will be extremely hard to bring the fight to RBR.


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[SmallSoldier]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mcla ... n=widget-1

I know the hype is real at the moment, but realistically speaking, do you really expect them to close a gap of over a second per lap (race pace) on restricted regulations? You can expect at most 0.2 per lap from the engine (and that's being optimistic to be honest) assuming the integration comes with no compromises elsewhere. Can't imagine how they can gather a net gain of more than 0.8 seconds over the winter when they are barely allowed to change anything from this car.

If some of the parts introduced this season before their deadlines are still part of larger package that hasn’t been brought forward and therefore not maximized, there is still a bit of time to be found there... But yes, the expectation for 2021 should be to fight for P3 again, to hopefully close the gap to Racing Point (Aston Martin) first.


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[SmallSoldier]

For next year, the goal should be being able to keep up with the top-3 after lap 5 of a race. The car now is fast enough to stay in front of the chasing pack (even including the 2nd RBR at some races) but we need to stop that big gap emerging to the leaders.

The car still isn’t the 3rd fastest car... It was in Abu Dhabi, but not over the course of a season... Yesterday, there was still a 40 second gap to 2nd RBR at the end of the race, that is still a huge gap to close.


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[godlameroso]

Lando was just around a second off the pace of Verstappen for most of the race. After he cleared Riccardo the gap dropped a little bit ~.7 Assuming that was the real gap in clean air, Norris would have finished ~40 seconds behind as well. If the Mercedes engine is worth another .2 over the Renault, the gap would be half a second, it's still a huge gap, but would be roughly where RB was relative to Mercedes this year.

Hopefully next year they can build on the aero and the Mercedes engine gives a nice bump in performance. They won't be able to improve the suspension much, and they won't be able to maximize the chassis to match the Mercedes power unit.

Next year I expect McLaren to be closer to the front, but Renault and Aston Martin will also get closer, and Ferrari will no longer be at the tail end of the midfield but right in the thick of it. So the competition for 3rd will be even higher next year. Results will be harder to come by so will be more rewarding.

[diffuser]

Something very "off" about Merc's Quali pace in Abu-dhabi


Dream Lap by Norris ?
Was Merc hiding a problem?
Did Merc MGU-K issue hamper them more than they were letting on ?
Tires a softer compound than 2019?

Last 5 GP Quali results in the dry.
eifel-grand-prix
Valtteri Bottas 1:25.269
Max Verstappen  1:25.562	
Lando Norris    1:26.458	

portuguese-grand-prix
Lewis Hamilton  1:16.652
Max Verstappen  1:16.904
Carlos Sainz    1:17.520
 
emilia-romagna-grand-prix
Valtteri Bottas 1:13.609
Max Verstappen  1:14.176
Lando Norris    1:14.814

bahrain-grand-prix
Lewis Hamilton  1:27.264
Max Verstappen  1:27.678	
Lando Norris    1:28.542

sakhir-grand-prix
Valtteri Bottas 0:53.377
Max Verstappen  0:53.433
Carlos Sainz    0:54.010

abu-dhabi-grand-prix
Max Verstappen  1:35.246
Valtteri Bottas 1:35.271
Lando Norris    1:35.497
Carlos Sainz    1:35.815

abu-dhabi-grand-prix 2019
Lewis Hamilton  1:34.779
Valtteri Bottas 1:34.973
Max Verstappen  1:35.139
Lando Norris    1:36.436

[diffuser]

Lando was just around a second off the pace of Verstappen for most of the race. After he cleared Riccardo the gap dropped a little bit ~.7 Assuming that was the real gap in clean air, Norris would have finished ~40 seconds behind as well. If the Mercedes engine is worth another .2 over the Renault, the gap would be half a second, it's still a huge gap, but would be roughly where RB was relative to Mercedes this year.

Hopefully next year they can build on the aero and the Mercedes engine gives a nice bump in performance. They won't be able to improve the suspension much, and they won't be able to maximize the chassis to match the Mercedes power unit.

Next year I expect McLaren to be closer to the front, but Renault and Aston Martin will also get closer, and Ferrari will no longer be at the tail end of the midfield but right in the thick of it. So the competition for 3rd will be even higher next year. Results will be harder to come by so will be more rewarding.

I wonder where that race pace differnece comes from.

[SmallSoldier]

Lando was just around a second off the pace of Verstappen for most of the race. After he cleared Riccardo the gap dropped a little bit ~.7 Assuming that was the real gap in clean air, Norris would have finished ~40 seconds behind as well. If the Mercedes engine is worth another .2 over the Renault, the gap would be half a second, it's still a huge gap, but would be roughly where RB was relative to Mercedes this year.

Hopefully next year they can build on the aero and the Mercedes engine gives a nice bump in performance. They won't be able to improve the suspension much, and they won't be able to maximize the chassis to match the Mercedes power unit.

Next year I expect McLaren to be closer to the front, but Renault and Aston Martin will also get closer, and Ferrari will no longer be at the tail end of the midfield but right in the thick of it. So the competition for 3rd will be even higher next year. Results will be harder to come by so will be more rewarding.

I wonder where that race pace differnece comes from.

Between RBR and Mclaren? In general is always grip... The more grip you have, the more speed you can carry into a corner, regardless if you are on Qualy pace or Race Pace.

That grip will be mostly due to your downforce level and how much you can keep the tires in their sweet spot inside of their operating window... Mercedes, RBR have more efficient downforce (downforce for a given amount of drag).


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[ALO_Power]

Something very "off" about Merc's Quali pace in Abu-dhabi


Dream Lap by Norris ?
Was Merc hiding a problem?
Did Merc MGU-K issue hamper them more than they were letting on ?
Tires a softer compound than 2019?

Last 5 GP Quali results in the dry.
eifel-grand-prix
Valtteri Bottas 1:25.269
Max Verstappen  1:25.562	
Lando Norris    1:26.458	
....

Ye I think they told that all Mercedes powered cars were running bit detuned for reliability.

[mwillems]

Something very "off" about Merc's Quali pace in Abu-dhabi


Dream Lap by Norris ?
Was Merc hiding a problem?
Did Merc MGU-K issue hamper them more than they were letting on ?
Tires a softer compound than 2019?

Last 5 GP Quali results in the dry.
eifel-grand-prix
Valtteri Bottas 1:25.269
Max Verstappen  1:25.562	
Lando Norris    1:26.458	
....

Ye I think they told that all Mercedes powered cars were running bit detuned for reliability.

Yes, due to a "Gremlin"

[Emag]

It's a shame McLaren has no young drivers to run on this test. I doubt they could gather too much data from it anyway, but testing is testing I guess. Wouldn't hurt to have it.