CjC wrote: ↑07 Jun 2026, 20:55
Like I expected, mixed emotions from the ADUO result.
Mclaren don’t have the second best chassis (which I never suggested) but considering it has the best hybrid and second best frozen water they haven’t done a good enough job sitting third in the WCC.
Also I’m certainly not basing any future predictions on the Monaco GP result. Mclaren lacked a lot of pace this weekend but let’s not forget from Japan onwards Mclaren have been the only team to threaten and beat Mercedes in any competitive session, they are the only team this season who have looked like winning a feature race and it was on 2 separate occasions.
I read your other post too quickly.
Mercedes was much faster than Mclaren in Japan. Piastri benefitted from the bad starts of the Mercedes and from being chased by the slower Mercedes driver and the yo-yo rules. Antonelli was significantly quicker than Russell that weekend. 4 tenths in qualifying but he had the worst start of all time and got stuck in a yo-yo train. If he got away from pole, we wouldn't have seen which way he went.
Mclaren actually haven't been close to Mercedes. Maybe in Miami when Mclaren brought a huge upgrade pack and Mercedes was still on the launch spec car? In Canada, Merc was pulling away from Norris at half a second a lap in the sprint before they started battling. In Monaco Mclaren was nowhere near Mercedes. I'm not convinced it's all rosey here. Lando Norris said as much after qualifying, that this is a reality check. Some things flattered Mclaren in the earlier races. They were never truly a Mercedes rival. If ever they were, it was really certain things aligning to make it look better than it was.
Red Bull is actually the only team with multiple front row starts this year, while riding an overweight car, and they do not have the best overall PU, despite the nonsense ADUO outcome. Mercedes does. Granted some of this is "Max effect", but the car is close enough for him to compete, unlike before Miami, so they have improved
something.