2026 McLaren Mastercard F1 Team

[CjC]

Has anyone heard from mwillems?

He pops up now and then.
I think he’s just appreciating his teams successes quietly from a far. 3 titles for McLaren and Arsenal finally got the league- I think he’s taking a break

And like many, I don’t think he’s a massive fan of the new F3 PUs which are masquerading as F1 PUs.

But correct me if I’m wrong Mwillems if you see this

[CjC]

Lando: ‘Pace was phenomenal. Good enough for a podium or even a win’

[AR3-GP]

Zak Brown didn't travel to Belgium. Perhaps overseeing the final bits of the Hungary upgrades.

[billamend]

Lando: ‘Pace was phenomenal. Good enough for a podium or even a win’

https://x.com/mclarenf1/status/2078915802107884015

He drove very well and he deserved to finish P7

Classic Stella gaslighting

[mwillems]

Has anyone heard from mwillems?

Eyup

[mwillems]

Has anyone heard from mwillems?

He pops up now and then.
I think he’s just appreciating his teams successes quietly from a far. 3 titles for McLaren and Arsenal finally got the league- I think he’s taking a break

And like many, I don’t think he’s a massive fan of the new F3 PUs which are masquerading as F1 PUs.

But correct me if I’m wrong Mwillems if you see this

I also avoided a lot of the noise and downbeat commentary at the start of the season (And some of the downright silliness). It felt as though any assessment of the car was being clouded by the team still learning the new engines, adapting to the new formula and dealing with a fair amount of bad luck.

Rather than keep repeating the same view, I took a step back until things had settled down. It was extremely difficult to extract meaningful data at that stage, and some of the analysis felt more like reading tea leaves than drawing more reliable conclusions. I haven't looked at data since so don't know if it is easier to extract meaningful insight now.

Away from F1, it has been a very up and down year personally. I've separated, my mum passed away, and my daughter broke her arm badly enough to need an operation. As a result, I haven't actually watched a single full race this year. I simply haven't had the time or headspace for it.

I'll probably start getting back into F1 once I'm home from holiday with the kids, so I should be around a bit more after the summer break.

[Waz]

Why are people talking like McLaren had no choice. This race has an 80% chance of a safety car (according to commentary) and even higher with the extra issues these new cars have. Knowing that he would have been better starting on softs or mediums.

Why start on hards on a track with an almost guaranteed early safety car?

I also don't understand this strategy. I can't remember the last time it worked out for a front runner either.

Next up, why didn't they pit on Lap 22 under VSC? Half distance on a rubbered in track, less fuel weight, the mediums would easily make the end.

[Slahinki]

Lando: ‘Pace was phenomenal. Good enough for a podium or even a win’

https://x.com/mclarenf1/status/2078915802107884015

He drove very well and he deserved to finish P7

Classic Stella gaslighting

You almost have to wonder what his problem is with Lando.

[Gillian]

Has anyone heard from mwillems?

He pops up now and then.
I think he’s just appreciating his teams successes quietly from a far. 3 titles for McLaren and Arsenal finally got the league- I think he’s taking a break

And like many, I don’t think he’s a massive fan of the new F3 PUs which are masquerading as F1 PUs.

But correct me if I’m wrong Mwillems if you see this

I also avoided a lot of the noise and downbeat commentary at the start of the season (And some of the downright silliness). It felt as though any assessment of the car was being clouded by the team still learning the new engines, adapting to the new formula and dealing with a fair amount of bad luck.

Rather than keep repeating the same view, I took a step back until things had settled down. It was extremely difficult to extract meaningful data at that stage, and some of the analysis felt more like reading tea leaves than drawing more reliable conclusions. I haven't looked at data since so don't know if it is easier to extract meaningful insight now.

Away from F1, it has been a very up and down year personally. I've separated, my mum passed away, and my daughter broke her arm badly enough to need an operation. As a result, I haven't actually watched a single full race this year. I simply haven't had the time or headspace for it.

I'll probably start getting back into F1 once I'm home from holiday with the kids, so I should be around a bit more after the summer break.

That is tough, take care man! F1 is rubbish atm so you are not missing a lot.

[venkyhere]

Has anyone heard from mwillems?

He pops up now and then.
I think he’s just appreciating his teams successes quietly from a far. 3 titles for McLaren and Arsenal finally got the league- I think he’s taking a break

And like many, I don’t think he’s a massive fan of the new F3 PUs which are masquerading as F1 PUs.

But correct me if I’m wrong Mwillems if you see this

I also avoided a lot of the noise and downbeat commentary at the start of the season (And some of the downright silliness). It felt as though any assessment of the car was being clouded by the team still learning the new engines, adapting to the new formula and dealing with a fair amount of bad luck.

Rather than keep repeating the same view, I took a step back until things had settled down. It was extremely difficult to extract meaningful data at that stage, and some of the analysis felt more like reading tea leaves than drawing more reliable conclusions. I haven't looked at data since so don't know if it is easier to extract meaningful insight now.

Away from F1, it has been a very up and down year personally. I've separated, my mum passed away, and my daughter broke her arm badly enough to need an operation. As a result, I haven't actually watched a single full race this year. I simply haven't had the time or headspace for it.

I'll probably start getting back into F1 once I'm home from holiday with the kids, so I should be around a bit more after the summer break.

You are not missing much. F1 is no longer 'driving at the limits of grip' , it's become 'driving at the limits of efficiency'. So the racing is pseudo.

Take care.

[Emag]

He pops up now and then.
I think he’s just appreciating his teams successes quietly from a far. 3 titles for McLaren and Arsenal finally got the league- I think he’s taking a break

And like many, I don’t think he’s a massive fan of the new F3 PUs which are masquerading as F1 PUs.

But correct me if I’m wrong Mwillems if you see this

I also avoided a lot of the noise and downbeat commentary at the start of the season (And some of the downright silliness). It felt as though any assessment of the car was being clouded by the team still learning the new engines, adapting to the new formula and dealing with a fair amount of bad luck.

Rather than keep repeating the same view, I took a step back until things had settled down. It was extremely difficult to extract meaningful data at that stage, and some of the analysis felt more like reading tea leaves than drawing more reliable conclusions. I haven't looked at data since so don't know if it is easier to extract meaningful insight now.

Away from F1, it has been a very up and down year personally. I've separated, my mum passed away, and my daughter broke her arm badly enough to need an operation. As a result, I haven't actually watched a single full race this year. I simply haven't had the time or headspace for it.

I'll probably start getting back into F1 once I'm home from holiday with the kids, so I should be around a bit more after the summer break.

You are not missing much. F1 is no longer 'driving at the limits of grip' , it's become 'driving at the limits of efficiency'. So the racing is pseudo.

Take care.

This season sucks big time, it’s literally sucking the joy out of watching every race. Terrible, absolutely terrible power unit regulations.

@mwilliems Sad to hear that. Take care man. Hope things start taking a turn for the better.

[De Wet]

Has anyone heard from mwillems?

He pops up now and then.
I think he’s just appreciating his teams successes quietly from a far. 3 titles for McLaren and Arsenal finally got the league- I think he’s taking a break

And like many, I don’t think he’s a massive fan of the new F3 PUs which are masquerading as F1 PUs.

But correct me if I’m wrong Mwillems if you see this

I also avoided a lot of the noise and downbeat commentary at the start of the season (And some of the downright silliness). It felt as though any assessment of the car was being clouded by the team still learning the new engines, adapting to the new formula and dealing with a fair amount of bad luck.

Rather than keep repeating the same view, I took a step back until things had settled down. It was extremely difficult to extract meaningful data at that stage, and some of the analysis felt more like reading tea leaves than drawing more reliable conclusions. I haven't looked at data since so don't know if it is easier to extract meaningful insight now.

Away from F1, it has been a very up and down year personally. I've separated, my mum passed away, and my daughter broke her arm badly enough to need an operation. As a result, I haven't actually watched a single full race this year. I simply haven't had the time or headspace for it.

I'll probably start getting back into F1 once I'm home from holiday with the kids, so I should be around a bit more after the summer break.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Divorce is a terrible thing. Best of luck going forwards.

[De Wet]

Pipass.com:

Stella:

"We know we must improve our braking and cornering to challenge our main opponents on tracks like Hungary and the Netherlands. We have upgrades coming for the second part of the season, and while not everything will be solved at once, our objective is clear - we want to consistently fight for podiums and, ultimately, victories."

Since when was braking an issue ? I thought we just lacked downforce.

[SilviuAgo]

Sorry to hear difficult times mwillems. Be strong and keep going for sure better times will follow. And speed recovery to the little one.

Coming back to yesterday race, found this laptimes from Lando. This guy deserved better yesterday. Now, that is the strategy, the reliability and need for a new battery affecting the starting position, bad luck with VSC, slow pitstop...is another story. But Lando is a true champ.



Lando Norris set 9 of the 10 fastest laps in the Belgian GP.

[mwillems]

Thanks for the kind messages everyone! x