2022 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[MrGapes]

I think from now on the team might need to invest more into tyres allocation instead of qualifying, especially when its a possible two stop, because there has been many races where marginally getting into q3 and wasting a soft has cost them in the race

[SmallSoldier]

I think from now on the team might need to invest more into tyres allocation instead of qualifying, especially when its a possible two stop, because there has been many races where marginally getting into q3 and wasting a soft has cost them in the race

The strategy was ok… With a potential one stop on the cards like Mercedes was trying to pull off… Alonso’s pace on the Hards forced them to go for a two stop (you have to react to your rivals) since Alonso’s pace was very strong on the Hards and they could have lost track position and it wasn’t straight forward to overtake (as we saw at the end)… A two stop Medium - Hard - Soft was on the cards and was the running plan until the VSC and Safety Car, just unlucky to lose the position and restart behind Alonso.

The highlight for me was keeping up with Sainz after the second stop, matching his pace.

i don’t think the strategy was far off… Even with Daniel, they pit him early to get him out of the Softs, he just wasn’t fast enough to make the undercut work and got stuck behind Vettel and having to match his pace… His second pit stop was also with the intention of having an undercut, but ended up losing time been lapped… Overall, the strategy for him was ok, he just didn’t had the speed to make it work.

[CjC]

I guess nobody expects McLaren to fight for fourth place in the championship running with only one driver

It’s impossible.
5th will be a result at the rate….

Yep, it's the same situation as with Ferrari last year. When McLaren had the edge, Daniel was not there to take points away from them. By the end of the season, Ferrari had the better car, and Daniel was still nowhere so it was impossible for Lando to hold off two cars.

This year it's even worse, because normally, the best available position in a race is 7th not 5th as it was in 2021. So there are less points available. All Alpine has to do to cover Lando's points is finish right behind him. It's literally impossible for Lando alone to carry the team to 4th. Unless Alpine goes backwards (which is unlikely), or Lando manages to fight for positions better than 7th consistently (which is even more unlikely), 5th in the constructors is the best possible (realistic) result this year.

Which is obviously a disappointment, but I would say it's inline with the car's performance. This is the performance of the car they built, and this is what they deserve.

Totally agree with you about being 5th.
Mclaren and Alpine have swapped from last season. Alpine gave up development last season and are reaping the rewards now. I feel Alpine still have a mega result in them this season too

[ScottR267]

It’s impossible.
5th will be a result at the rate….

Yep, it's the same situation as with Ferrari last year. When McLaren had the edge, Daniel was not there to take points away from them. By the end of the season, Ferrari had the better car, and Daniel was still nowhere so it was impossible for Lando to hold off two cars.

This year it's even worse, because normally, the best available position in a race is 7th not 5th as it was in 2021. So there are less points available. All Alpine has to do to cover Lando's points is finish right behind him. It's literally impossible for Lando alone to carry the team to 4th. Unless Alpine goes backwards (which is unlikely), or Lando manages to fight for positions better than 7th consistently (which is even more unlikely), 5th in the constructors is the best possible (realistic) result this year.

Which is obviously a disappointment, but I would say it's inline with the car's performance. This is the performance of the car they built, and this is what they deserve.

Totally agree with you about being 5th.
Mclaren and Alpine have swapped from last season. Alpine gave up development last season and are reaping the rewards now. I feel Alpine still have a mega result in them this season too

What a good job Pat Fry has done since going in there. Seems to have got them turned and rowing in the right direction.

[Mansell89]

Agree, Pat Fry setting some solid foundations there. Still think they need a bit of a guru alongside him to take it next level.

Frankly what does it matter whether we are p4 or p5? It’s more about how we close the gap to the elite and what we learn for next season.

Biggest question for me that I’m intrigued by is solving the drag problem. How do we do what Red Bull do? They were mighty yet again today even on a short straight.

[SmallSoldier]

Let’s not forget that Alpine sacrificed a couple of seasons to be as good as they could this year… While McLaren was trying to fight Ferrari last year for example, Alpine was working focus in 2022… That was “El Plan”.

Not that surprising for them to be a bit ahead.


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[ScottR267]

Agree, Pat Fry setting some solid foundations there. Still think they need a bit of a guru alongside him to take it next level.

Frankly what does it matter whether we are p4 or p5? It’s more about how we close the gap to the elite and what we learn for next season.

Biggest question for me that I’m intrigued by is solving the drag problem. How do we do what Red Bull do? They were mighty yet again today even on a short straight.

Maybe you are right about another someone else alongside him.

Could probably and fairly make the same argument for McLaren as well at present.

[Ground Effect]

I think McLaren need some fresh eyes in their ranks. Someone from a winning team, Red Bull, Mercedes, even Ferrari. These guys are used to designing cars with the expectation of winning races. James Key doesn't have that pedigree, I think he's solid, but maybe he needs a couple of lieutenants from a winning team.

[Ben1980]

Can anyone name all the people involved in designing the cars and when and where they joined from?

My guess is, no one knows. So saying they need people from xyz I'd meaningless.

[ScottR267]

Can anyone name all the people involved in designing the cars and when and where they joined from?

My guess is, no one knows. So saying they need people from xyz I'd meaningless.

True however yesteryear McLaren had the top engineers e.g. Paddy Lowe, Neil Oatley, Pat Fry, Adrian Newey etc

[proteus]

I think McLaren need some fresh eyes in their ranks. Someone from a winning team, Red Bull, Mercedes, even Ferrari. These guys are used to designing cars with the expectation of winning races. James Key doesn't have that pedigree, I think he's solid, but maybe he needs a couple of lieutenants from a winning team.

He needs the tools to do his job properly. We all know Mclaren doesnt have their facilities up to date. We are talking about this for months. If he fails when new windtunnel is introduced, then it will be time to look elsewhere. But dont expect miracles until then. This means atleast 2 more seasons of midfield position.

[McL-H]

Can anyone name all the people involved in designing the cars and when and where they joined from?

My guess is, no one knows. So saying they need people from xyz I'd meaningless.

True however yesteryear McLaren had the top engineers e.g. Paddy Lowe, Neil Oatley, Pat Fry, Adrian Newey etc

Paddy Lowe is no top engineer. Paddy just thought he was.

[diffuser]

Yep, it's the same situation as with Ferrari last year. When McLaren had the edge, Daniel was not there to take points away from them. By the end of the season, Ferrari had the better car, and Daniel was still nowhere so it was impossible for Lando to hold off two cars.

This year it's even worse, because normally, the best available position in a race is 7th not 5th as it was in 2021. So there are less points available. All Alpine has to do to cover Lando's points is finish right behind him. It's literally impossible for Lando alone to carry the team to 4th. Unless Alpine goes backwards (which is unlikely), or Lando manages to fight for positions better than 7th consistently (which is even more unlikely), 5th in the constructors is the best possible (realistic) result this year.

Which is obviously a disappointment, but I would say it's inline with the car's performance. This is the performance of the car they built, and this is what they deserve.

Totally agree with you about being 5th.
Mclaren and Alpine have swapped from last season. Alpine gave up development last season and are reaping the rewards now. I feel Alpine still have a mega result in them this season too

What a good job Pat Fry has done since going in there. Seems to have got them turned and rowing in the right direction.

Yes Fry but also the rest of that technical team at Alpine (minus Otmar, just because he wasn't there).

[ScottR267]

Can anyone name all the people involved in designing the cars and when and where they joined from?

My guess is, no one knows. So saying they need people from xyz I'd meaningless.

True however yesteryear McLaren had the top engineers e.g. Paddy Lowe, Neil Oatley, Pat Fry, Adrian Newey etc

Paddy Lowe is no top engineer. Paddy just thought he was.

Seems a little harsh. His 2 years stint with Williams has really tarnished his reputation

[diffuser]

True however yesteryear McLaren had the top engineers e.g. Paddy Lowe, Neil Oatley, Pat Fry, Adrian Newey etc

Paddy Lowe is no top engineer. Paddy just thought he was.

Seems a little harsh. His 2 years stint with Williams has really tarnished his reputation

It has. That has to do with the general public's understanding of the inner workings of a F1 team. The average person doen't realise that the job he did there(CFO) was different to what he had done before that. Although the situation at Williams didn't help, I can safely say nobody will ever give Paddy a Job as CFO again. I can only presume that whatever he did at Merc, McLaren and the first stint at williams all those years met with some satisfaction from his bosses over the years.