2019 Mclaren F1 Team - Renault

[Espresso]

the test coming the right time for renault engines .....for china my opinion is mclaren will be closer to the top ...

from sainz yesterday While Carlos Sainz says: "I had better pace than the Red Bull in front and it felt like I was faster than the Mercedes.".....if we find half a second upgrade from others we will be podium contender at every race on season ...little pace from everywhere ..tires-engine-aero-chassis .....

Wow.. Where did he say this? Link?

Search and ye shall find:
https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433 ... er-ratings

Sainz and Verstappen have been clashing since the Torro Rosso days. That ain't ever gonna stop.
Ves is a hard racer, in the margin of the rules. Sainz is a dirty racer using the margin of the rules.

Put them together and you'll get a clash (and spectacle). Racing incident....and somehow the spectacle they want in the (new era of) Formula 1.

Just to elaborate. Don't underestimate Sainz Jr. and Sainz Sr. dirty book of tricks.
They use everything they can to gain anything, including there own 'fan fox-like' newsoutlet.

Give me Norris, a great refreshing wind through McLaren. He's doing great, would love to see him on the Podium soon.

[mwillems]

If DRS was enabled, you sure it wouldn't have gone to sainz? Pretty sure there are 2 zones for one detection there.

Not sure the word "Struggled" accurately describes McLaren's pace at Bahrain.

I have no idea how we're going to do in China but nothing I saw in Bahrain suggests to me we'll struggle.

Yes but max would then be sitting behind sainz so hed be likely getting those same DRS zones for a back and forth tussle between the two.

We struggled to get close to the Renaults until they ran over each other and subsequently exploded. Lando kept Kimi behind, but the Alfa was right there with us, so I do t think there is much clear air in performance terms around McLaren. I know we had used tyres but this is a forgiving track with 3 DRS zones. It won't be like this elsewhere.

If we drop a few tenths in China we could easily be 13th or 14th on the grid with less of a chance to regain position.

Typically 1 car has to be faster that the other to pass it. The slower car can hold the faster car back. Once the faster car gets by, it's usually goodbye.

Agreed on China but we really have no idea if they are going to be faster or slower in China. nor do we know what upgrades are planned by McLaren or anyone else for that matter.

Sainz had DRS behind Verstappen, but Verstappen was 2 seconds behind Bottas, hence Sainz advantage.

DRS was one second a lap apparently. So if Sainz lost that second and Verstappen gained it, I think they would have spent a while fighting for an overall net loss in time. Particularly since the RB would reign us in through corners and remove our straight line advantage with DRS.

But that's just an opinion, I'm just not convinced that Sainz could have had fifth.

[ispano6]

According to Carlos he was a DNF anyway due to a suspect gearbox.

If I were a McLaren fan I'd be worrying about my own teams troubled engine and gearbox making it to the end in China.

Maybe Mansour Ojjeh will end up sacking Zak Brown now that James Key has arrived. Or just keep him around for marketing officer.

-2 for an opinion?
(Pretty much every other person in charge has been sacked or blamed... just saying there aren't many other original people left to blame)... Usually when things aren't going in harmony it's because of some discord within the team, the feeling of unwanted elements, dead-weight, parties not pulling their own weight, etc. Team dynamics plays a huge part and if you don't have everyone behind the cause blowing wind into the sail you sink. I feel that happened with the teaming up of Zak and Alonso. The team seemed to shift it's focus on marketing the brand through Alonso, instead of focusing on the team.

[Ground Effect]

According to Carlos he was a DNF anyway due to a suspect gearbox.

If I were a McLaren fan I'd be worrying about my own teams troubled engine and gearbox making it to the end in China.

Maybe Mansour Ojjeh will end up sacking Zak Brown now that James Key has arrived. Or just keep him around for marketing officer.

That literally makes no sense.

[Jambier]

Regarding engine, I've posted on another topic but:

- Renault know the MGU issue since testing this winter
- They have made a first fix for it
- As McLaren had a failure on AUS, the fix was given to both McLaren in Barhain
- There was not enough available, so Renault works teams didn't have it

Wait and see. But if there is already a first fix, maybe they can solve this quickly

[geogate]

Andreas Seidl will be the managing director of Mclaren Racing when he arrives. Brown is CEO. Pretty sure Seidl will get the authority he needs to turn things around operationaly - hes a good appointment

[zeph]

Maybe Mansour Ojjeh will end up sacking Zak Brown now that James Key has arrived. Or just keep him around for marketing officer.

I don't think you understand how management is structured.

Have a look at this: https://www.mclaren.com/formula1/team/#management

[trinidefender]

According to Carlos he was a DNF anyway due to a suspect gearbox.

If I were a McLaren fan I'd be worrying about my own teams troubled engine and gearbox making it to the end in China.

Maybe Mansour Ojjeh will end up sacking Zak Brown now that James Key has arrived. Or just keep him around for marketing officer.

I don't get what you have against Zak Brown. He isn't an engineer, he says this openly. He is a business man with many commercial connections and additionally is/was an amateur racer and car enthusiast.

Zak was brought in to:
1. Raise funds for a team that commercially wasn't earning as much through sponsorship compared to what it used to (at least compared to other teams).
2. Put the right people in place to get the job done.

What metric would you like to use to try to prove the point that he hasn't done either?

He has and is seeming to use his many commercial connections to bring in sponsorship money.

His recent hires of high profile engineers bodes well for the future of the technical department.

[ollandos]

something about renault works team pace ....we are faster ...both renault it was out of q3 ..and save brand new tires... 2 medium and 1 soft brand new all of them for hulk ...1+1 for ric but overtaked by norris ..hulk with luck after 1 lap it was a lot in front ...of mclarens..norris manage to stay close to hulk all the race ..not more than 4-5 sec with older tires...we beat them on both quali ...for me crearly renault is not faster ..not much back but is slower ...on quali and race ...the question is aboyt haas ...very strong quali pace but slow on race ..its not clear yet for them ...we are on target for red bull if we are not faster allready ...on 3 quali parts on bahrein ..sainz it was on the same tenth with max ..and overtake him at the start ...probably on china lay out we are faster ..but there is time until there an upgrades are possibly ...with current cars we are faster from red bull at china and bahrein ...a bit faster ...both truck are quit similars ....the tire deg look very good even the best og all and if we keep that for china it will be huge advantage from all of them ...and again another podium chance we want only a trouble free weekend ...

[geogate]

well, they did all keep Eric Boullier around far too long

[ispano6]

According to Carlos he was a DNF anyway due to a suspect gearbox.

If I were a McLaren fan I'd be worrying about my own teams troubled engine and gearbox making it to the end in China.

Maybe Mansour Ojjeh will end up sacking Zak Brown now that James Key has arrived. Or just keep him around for marketing officer.

That literally makes no sense.

I was trying to get at who takes responsibility for the gearbox problems. I figure James Key is there to help fix their technical issues, so you don't need Brown as CEO, just for sponsors and marketing. If I were Ojjeh, I'd be thinking along those lines.

[rogazilla]

Regarding engine, I've posted on another topic but:

- Renault know the MGU issue since testing this winter
- They have made a first fix for it
- As McLaren had a failure on AUS, the fix was given to both McLaren in Barhain
- There was not enough available, so Renault works teams didn't have it

Wait and see. But if there is already a first fix, maybe they can solve this quickly

That's the same story just little different flavors since the hybrid era for Renault PU, year after year.

[ispano6]

According to Carlos he was a DNF anyway due to a suspect gearbox.

If I were a McLaren fan I'd be worrying about my own teams troubled engine and gearbox making it to the end in China.

Maybe Mansour Ojjeh will end up sacking Zak Brown now that James Key has arrived. Or just keep him around for marketing officer.

I don't get what you have against Zak Brown. He isn't an engineer, he says this openly. He is a business man with many commercial connections and additionally is/was an amateur racer and car enthusiast.

Zak was brought in to:
1. Raise funds for a team that commercially wasn't earning as much through sponsorship compared to what it used to (at least compared to other teams).
2. Put the right people in place to get the job done.

What metric would you like to use to try to prove the point that he hasn't done either?

He has and is seeming to use his many commercial connections to bring in sponsorship money.

His recent hires of high profile engineers bodes well for the future of the technical department.

Which saw Ron Dennis unceremoniously ousted from McLaren and Honda contract ended, loss of face and free PUs, all for what? One temporary year of mediocrity with Renault right when Honda engine was becoming good? It took dumping Honda to realize how pretty she could be and how overweight yourself has become. Ron Dennis had a 10year plan with Honda that could have bore fruit but knee jerk reactions and some pretty rude cultural comments and disrespectfulness ended a vision of a man who led McLaren through good times and bad. Need I say more?

[Jambier]

Regarding engine, I've posted on another topic but:

- Renault know the MGU issue since testing this winter
- They have made a first fix for it
- As McLaren had a failure on AUS, the fix was given to both McLaren in Barhain
- There was not enough available, so Renault works teams didn't have it

Wait and see. But if there is already a first fix, maybe they can solve this quickly

That's the same story just little different flavors since the hybrid era for Renault PU, year after year.

Well, yes and no:

- They had an MGU-K Issue since 2017.
- They took a long time to have the new version, lighter and more reliable
- In 2018 they adopt it in season, and there was no particular issues ( Except for RBR sticking to the old one)

This year issues with MGU K is quite a surprise, as I assume they still use the 2018 one but with the "new engine concept"
Hopefully it will not be like last time a long job to fix it

[rogazilla]

...

Sure but that's why I said little flavor difference but the story is the same. Next time they will provide the fixes to Renault works team and not McLaren then what?

Feeling bullish for McLaren although I try to maintain my optimism about the car and not get too excited. As they did well last year at the opening stages (although not this good). Norris is the real deal and either Renault need to get on top of its reliability/parts availability/power in a good balance, or it will be frustrating for McLaren as it did for RBR. I really hope they can bring in another manufacture (or 2) in 2021 and McLaren can get back to works team.