2024 Mclaren Formula 1 Team

[Silent Storm]

So what I deduced from this race. Rusell doesn't have as good as a race pace as Hamilton. Max was double lucky today with the Safety Car and the wet pit exit. Mclaren should have gone for new mediums.

Still an okay result.

Everyone who pitted went through the same wet pit exit, so how is that lucky for Max as he went through that a lap or two earlier and probably lost similar time as Lando.

[geogate]

red bull are odds on favourites for spain, but maybe the Mclaren will like the traditional European circuits too - who knows. Canada was not a good MCL38 circuit just as much as it wasnt ideal for Red Bull

[propercare]

I think people will be in for a rude awakening in Barcelona, but I would love it if I was wrong.

RedBull also has upgrades coming there, so anything but a dominant RedBull win would be a surprise.

That's why I said earlier, I am more concerned with how the gaps to Ferrari and Mercedes will be.

Realistically, McLaren wont get another race win until the next round of upgrades comes, the magnitude of which will be crucial on how the rest of the season pans out with gaps being so close.

We had 5 races were Red Bull wasn't dominant, why do you think something magical will happen there? Maybe Max will have an edge but surely won't be walk in the park. Especially now that Mercedes is joining the party.

[LionsHeart]

I'm just disappointed. And again, it's about how long it takes the race management to make a decision. I have nothing more to add.

Sargent showed again what a "great guy" he is behind the wheel, actually calling out yellow flags twice.

I never cease to be amazed at how Lando can pick up the pace. It was great driving. It happened as it happened, the victory was missed through no fault of his. In my memory, this has happened for the third time in a row, when Lando passes the entrance to the pitlane under yellow flags and at that very moment the safety car is announced.

Still solid points for the team. We are waiting for Barcelona. Let's see if the fast corners will help us or not.

Oh yeah! The team scored points with two cars in Montreal, breaking a bad trend that started in 2015.

[Darth-Piekus]

So what I deduced from this race. Rusell doesn't have as good as a race pace as Hamilton. Max was double lucky today with the Safety Car and the wet pit exit. Mclaren should have gone for new mediums.

Still an okay result.

Everyone who pitted went through the same wet pit exit, so how is that lucky for Max as he went through that a lap or two earlier and probably lost similar time as Lando.

It was kinda as that wasn't the case in Miami. On another topic do you happen to know if Rusell is gonna get a penalty for the collision with Piastri as it's being investigated after the race.

[Emag]

I think Max will win 75% of the remaining races. The championship is his and Red Bulls to loose in my opinion

I think people will be in for a rude awakening in Barcelona, but I would love it if I was wrong.

RedBull also has upgrades coming there, so anything but a dominant RedBull win would be a surprise.

That's why I said earlier, I am more concerned with how the gaps to Ferrari and Mercedes will be.

Realistically, McLaren wont get another race win until the next round of upgrades comes, the magnitude of which will be crucial on how the rest of the season pans out with gaps being so close.

I really don't get the pessimism. Lando ran away today and was unlucky to get caught by SC but unable to pit. Monaco would have been a win if the lap was just slightly better in qualy. Imola was probably 1-2 laps away from a win.

There is no pessimism, but I never cherry pick the best moments to make any team look good. You mention Imola, where RedBull couldn't get a proper setup until FP3, and even then, went into the race compromised. The first stint at Imola, and a very big part of the second stint, Lando had nothing on Max. If he had been faster all the way through, the race would have had enough laps for him to overtake.

You mention Monaco, where qualifying makes all the difference, but Leclerc was dominating pretty much every session except Q1 and Q2. It is true the ideal lap for Oscar was faster by a bit, but Leclerc literally got out there in Q3 and set his best laps one after the other. A good/better car allows you to extract the laptime consistently.

And again here, the first stint was just a master class by Lando, he was smoking everyone in that first stint. Credit where credit is due, Oscar was also flying in the end, but he could not make progress the same way Lando did. He literally smoked everyone out of great tire management and a car which liked the conditions at the time.

Discount that first stint, McLaren was not the fastest car on track for the vast majority of the race, and by the end, they were clearly 3rd quickest.

And why do I think Max will win in Barcelona? Because he won here on a track which again wasn't amazing for that car with Perez being nowhere on both qualifying and the race. Barcelona has no area that "screams" weakness for the RedBull as a car and they're also bringing upgrades there.

McLaren has similar strength & weaknesses to the RedBull, but when the strengths align, RedBull pulls ahead.

We will see what happens in Barcelona, but I think people have been building this false sense of optimism just because RedBull has been on a bit of a "rut" (overstatement) with a streak of unfavorable tracks and difficulties in setting the car up.

Just remember how this season started. They were untouchable, and their car doesn't look any different from how it started the season. They got at least one big upgrade package coming because Newey himself confirmed it early on that their car will look quite a bit different at some point.

They are absolutely the favorites and the team to beat. For them to have won 2 of the last 3 races while being on somewhat of a slump, is actually a huge warning call to the rivals.

McLaren, and the chasing pack need to work harder, because if they couldn't beat the RedBull + Max combot at their worst, they stand no chance against it when they're at their best.

[FittingMechanics]

There is no pessimism, but I never cherry pick the best moments to make any team look good.

You cherry pick just as much but in the opposite direction. Saying you don't think McLaren can win until next upgrades seems so premature and unobjective that I had to comment about it. We have proof in last bunch of races that they were very close and if there was just slightly better luck, they would have done it.

[Darth-Piekus]

Despite the results I think we are on target to get some victories this year as we got one already and missed some more by luck and we can go for the championship next year.

[Ground Effect]

I think Max will win 75% of the remaining races. The championship is his and Red Bulls to loose in my opinion

Allow me to disagree. He should not have won today on merit if it wasn't for the SC. He can barely hold up two Mclarens anymore. If the car gain 2-3 more tenths on the next upgrade which I hope to come soon then the Mclarens will be untouchable even for Max.

Also for Emag nothing suggests that the upgrades will work. The last upgrade was a downgrade.

Just bear in mind nobody will be sitting sitting still, waiting for McLaren to catch up.

[Emag]

There is no pessimism, but I never cherry pick the best moments to make any team look good.

You cherry pick just as much but in the opposite direction. Saying you don't think McLaren can win until next upgrades seems so premature and unobjective that I had to comment about it. We have proof in last bunch of races that they were very close and if there was just slightly better luck, they would have done it.

I don't think I do, but when the worst stints/moments are so significant, it's difficult to ignore them the way some people here do. It's weird to me how people think the first safety car took away a race win here, when in fact, Lando would have been overtaken on track at the end there with the pace he had even if he was P1.

[FittingMechanics]

Just bear in mind nobody will be sitting sitting still, waiting for McLaren to catch up.

Ofcourse but it does seem that McLaren had best upgrades last year and this year. If that doesn't change, they should become the fastest car by the end of the season.

[Emag]

It's simple really, and Max said it really well after losing to Lando in Miami. When you have the best car on track, it often doesn't matter how lucky / unlucky you get.

Opportunities were there for the win today, even with the unlucky safety car timing. If the car was the best on track, they would have taken it by pure pace instead of relying on good fortune.

[Ben1980]

I think any reasonable person, is still aware, that RB are the team to beat. But, the last handful of races, even if they won, aren't just coincidences. Last year they swept all before them pretty comfortably. And they aren't at present, it shows it's all a lot tighter, and they are being challenged genuinely.

[LionsHeart]

If anyone is interested.

[FittingMechanics]

There is no pessimism, but I never cherry pick the best moments to make any team look good.

You cherry pick just as much but in the opposite direction. Saying you don't think McLaren can win until next upgrades seems so premature and unobjective that I had to comment about it. We have proof in last bunch of races that they were very close and if there was just slightly better luck, they would have done it.

I don't think I do, but when the worst stints/moments are so significant, it's difficult to ignore them the way some people here do. It's weird to me how people think the first safety car took away a race win here, when in fact, Lando would have been overtaken on track at the end there with the pace he had even if he was P1.

Whether NOR would have won today is hard to say. There was more than one safety car so he would have been bunched up at least and then he would be vulnerable (like Piastri). But he was very hard done by losing such a big gap and then ending up P3. And this wasn't because someone took a risk and SC fell right, it was because race control once again threw a SC just as NOR was passing pit entry (like in Miami). Looking at it objectively on NOR later stints, it is likely that he would have not kept his P1. VER probably had enough, especially with good restarts and DRS.

But I still don't think you are objective. Best example is that you mention free practices in Monaco to prove Leclerc was supposed to be on pole. Free practices mean nothing. You are conservative and pessimistic.

But let's finish it here. We've made our argument.