Vodaphone McLaren Mercedes MP4-24

[De Jokke]

“To give you some idea of the scale of the problem, through turn 8 [the fastest corner on the track] we are 10 to 15kph slower than the Force Indias. It could be many things, maybe the vortices in the airflow as they come off the front wing affecting the flow to the rear. The airflow of an F1 car is incredibly complex and we just aren’t finding the problem.”
Earlier in the season McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh suggested the car’s problem was just lack of development and that they could develop its full competitiveness before the season was over.
This is looking less likely now. Asked if he could see any developments at the factory that gave him the hope of being able to race Button at the front of the field this year, Hamilton was frank in his reply, saying: “Not really. We’ve lost our way with this car. We need to understand what has gone wrong so we can bounce back next year.”


So no wins this year
Mclaren really have to use their races as test sessions! It's over anyway. Test test test to find the bottom of the problem and to bounce back next year. Otherwise, they won't get to the bottom of it and build another 24.
Please consider the season done and start testing that car thoroughly.

[djos]

So no wins this year

Thats Ok, Hamilton needs a year in a --- car to teach him some respect for the other "the monkeys behind" BGP, RBR & Ferrari.

Imo it's pure Karma biting him on the ar$e for being an arrogant little twat for the last 2 years. =D>

[WhiteBlue]

How nice that I can join the majority opinion on this one. Hamilton is surely a very good driver but he was raised with a silver spoon in his mouth in terms of his F1 carreer. A bit of a character building season will make him stronger like it helped Alonso to some impressive drives this years and Michael Schumacher in 2005 and 2006.

[vasia]

This car doesnt seem to be doing anything positive this weekend. Its a mystery how it ran so well in the practice and then behaved like a stubborn mule in the qualifying. You could actually see the drivers fighting the car, especially Lewis' car, what the hell is wrong with it? Its like it has a mind of its own.

McLaren likely may have been showboating a bit in practice, and I suspect some of the other teams did not show their hand in practice either. Also to back up the fact that it is a dog of a car, Hamilton and McLaren are saying the car has gotten slower as the temperatures have gone up and more rubber has been put down on the track. Both Kovalainen and Hamilton said that Turn 8 was really hard to drive with the car.

You could tell both in practice and qualifying that the rear end of the MP4-24 was unstable. Despite all the parts they've added to the car and changes they've made, the rear remains unstable, the car lacks downforce, and it has not enough grip in high speed corners. The car has good mechanical grip in slow speed corners, but poor high speed stability. That is the reason why the car was better in Monaco, and why they will struggle at a lot of tracks this season.

I agree that this is certainly karma for Hamilton, and it should build some character for him.

[Spencifer_Murphy]

So no wins this year

Thats Ok, Hamilton needs a year in a --- car to teach him some respect for the other "the monkeys behind" BGP, RBR & Ferrari.

Imo it's pure Karma biting him on the ar$e for being an arrogant little twat for the last 2 years. =D>

I know, its crazy being arrogant in anyway, especially when you've achieved nothing, you know, youngest world champion ever, viewed as good enough to be given a drive (as a rookie) in a world championship capable car by a team not known for gifting drives to rookies.

Seems to be any excuse to beat up on the kid. While I agree its not really fair that Lewis was given a great car from the offset in his F1 carear, frankly life isn't fair, and he's proven he was good enough to be given that privalage. But that's for another discussion...

With regards to the car:

I really do think Mclaren need to can this one. '09 is a write off. They need to focus on 2010. Any more development in a vain attempt to claw back the defecit this year is just going to be wasted effort. Why bother? If Mclaren were a midfield team by standard I'd understand the concpt of fighting to the end. But they are a world class outfit that SHOULD be at the front, and have failed spectacularly to do so. And unlike Ferrari, they have struggled to climb back (the F60 has seen marked improvements, while the MP4-24 has remained abysmal throughout.)

Pushing development in '08 to the very end hurt them, its a valid excuse, it hurt Ferrari too. The fact they aren't making inroads to this by now is not good however. And next year they will not have the convienient luxury of the "last year's title push hurt us" excuse, it will NOT be valid, failure of this kind next year is frankly inexcusebale. Because, if I'm honest, if next year's car is in anyway hampered by development made on this car, THAT ALONE is a massive mistake

If that mistake is made, whoever is responsible for the desicion to divert resources away from the 2010 car and onto the '09 ceral box (well the MP4-24 does have the aero of a ceral box doesn't it?!) will need to be certified and locked up in a nicely padded cell, becuase any monkey can see a title in 2009 (besides that of the wooden spoon) is well beyond this lot now.

[vasia]

I think pride might stop McLaren from canning the MP4-24 early this year.

[djos]

I know, its crazy being arrogant in anyway, especially when you've achieved nothing, you know, youngest world champion ever, viewed as good enough to be given a drive (as a rookie) in a world championship capable car by a team not known for gifting drives to rookies.

Seems to be any excuse to beat up on the kid. While I agree its not really fair that Lewis was given a great car from the offset in his F1 carear, frankly life isn't fair, and he's proven he was good enough to be given that privalage. But that's for another discussion...

No excuse needed, I've never heard Fernando or Schumacher insulting those in the slower cars and I certainly never saw them aggressively chopping across them in braking zones sending them down escape routes like F1 was their Birthright and all the other drivers where merely serfs for them to dismiss at their pleasure.

His attitude in the past stunk, no if buts or maybes and that's why many of us dislike him despite his obvious driving talent!

[WhiteBlue]

To be honest, he also had the occasional --- packet handed. Spa 2008 comes to mind.

[djos]

To be honest, he also had the occasional --- packet handed. Spa 2008 comes to mind.

Yep, no argument there - he also got lucky a few times eg in Japan by not getting penalised for weaving behind the safety car in the rain despite the drivers being told not to in their pre-race briefing and causing the Vettel/Webber Crash!

[PlatinumZealot]

OK.. You guys revealed yourself

What did Hamilton ever do wrong? He has a great attitude and is Kind Person, I don't know where all those claims are coming from.
The man is great.

[ringo]

I don't think Hamilton had any bad attitudes. He never insulted any one driver directly.His driving may be it a little wild, but it was something different for a change, it was unconventional. He had a Senna like approach in terms of his self entitlement.
And it was the right attitude, his job is to make the other guy's job hard. That is real racing.
We all were wondering what F1 would be without Shumacher then came Hamilton. Hate him or love him, he makes you watch F1. He got the blood pumping again. 2009 will never be like 2007 or 2008. Why? because Hamilton is not at the front.
This year is no exception, this is why there is so much emotion whenever he fails to be in the mix at the front of the pack, we want to see him pass champions like Kimi 4 times in a row a la china.
So even though the championship hopes are over, he is still the man to watch for entertainment purposes. I say Mclaren should try a little with the car, but do not put in too much effort and spending, there are still many races left. At least try to get Lewis 3rd overall at the end of the season.

One recommendation i would make in terms of making the car half decent is to redesign the engine cover. The exhaust protrusion may be part of what's wrong with this car. IT needs to be trimmed down to something similar to the Toyota. This may mean a redesign of the exhaust manifold and may increase temperatures but they have nothing to lose now.

[timbo]

What did Hamilton ever do wrong?

That's funny. He's like Jesus? I can't think of a person that always do right

[Richard]

Schumacher ... I certainly never saw them aggressively chopping across them in braking zones sending them down escape routes like F1 was their Birthright

True, he preferred to take people out when there was no escape route ... or use the team radio to ask them to move over on the straight bits.

[Richard]

The post race BBC coverage discussed bringing the 2010 car in early in terms that made it seem it was nearly ready. Is that journalistic hyperbole or is it based on fact?

Also, they mentioned changes of personnel leading the design team. That got a bit mixed up for me, can anyone enlighten us on that please?

[timbo]

The post race BBC coverage discussed bringing the 2010 car in early in terms that made it seem it was nearly ready. Is that journalistic hyperbole or is it based on fact?

Nope. With next year ban of refueling and different tires 2010 car would be too different to yield any advantage with the current regs.