2021 Mclaren F1 Team

[FittingMechanics]

Does anyone know/can check if the team had the opportunity to pit one lap after Hamilton. Did Hamilton claw back the time under the 25 second mark on his outlap?

If Hamilton was more than 25-30 seconds back, that was a huge missed opportunity to cover him taking inters.

They did pit one lap after Lewis, it was just a very long lap the Lando, Slip sliding away

EDIT…. Actually I’m wrong about that

Reading some other forums and from my own memory, I think this option disappeared as Hamilton closed to 19s on lap 50. That is about +5s a lap and if the rain didn't get worse, Lando would be able to stay P1.

[the EDGE]

Every driver is the same, Lando was perfectly calm over the radio for 90% of the race, but when being given useless information in the situation he was in ‘shut up’ is more than acceptable

Anyone who think they would have acted differently in the same situation is just kidding themselves

[the EDGE]

Does anyone know/can check if the team had the opportunity to pit one lap after Hamilton. Did Hamilton claw back the time under the 25 second mark on his outlap?

If Hamilton was more than 25-30 seconds back, that was a huge missed opportunity to cover him taking inters.

They did pit one lap after Lewis, it was just a very long lap the Lando, Slip sliding away

EDIT…. Actually I’m wrong about that

Reading some other forums and from my own memory, I think this option disappeared as Hamilton closed to 19s on lap 50. That is about +5s a lap and if the rain didn't get worse, Lando would be able to stay P1.

Yeah I seem to remember the pit window to stay in the lead decreased rapidly after Lewis pitted. He was only 1 second ahead before hand, & Merc timed Lewis’s pit perfectly

[runningmanz]

TBH though not a fan of his shortness on the radio to the team but I guess its down to experience and personality. Dan is alot more calm and respectful to the team. I guess over time Lando will probably calm down a bit.

Do you hear his radios often? He and Will have a great relationship and are respectful towards each other. Moments of great tension bring this type of answer in the radio, but I’ve seen _many_ drivers do the same.

Yeah this is the first time ever he has been short with Will. I really dislike how people are reading so much into one radio message. 5 or 4 laps from your first ever win after doing everything perfectly all weekend, the most successful F1 driver of all time right on your tail in the fastest car at that circuit, being on hard slicks with rain on half the track constantly changing in intensity, pulling away from Hamilton in said conditions....I could go on!

What do these people expect while they are all high and mighty in their armchairs at home!? Have they never been under pressure? If they have it won't have been a drop compared to the guys yesterday.

Team did great all weekend and the random rain ruined a dream result. Gutting but this is racing. No blame needed just learn from it. Keep up the good work

Relax a bit its just an opinion. Not the first time as others have mentioned from Lando though but like I said its probably just down to experience and having the pressure of a first race win in sight. Not having a crack he is a gun driver just an observation. Dan's radio in contrast is quite calm even in the wet mayhem and in that regard you would think better decisions can be made between team and driver when like that.

[billamend]

Daniel had nothing to loose, really. That’s not a fair comparison. You also need to hear the full radio: Lando was 100% in control of the race, and very calm.

You need to compare with others in similar situations. Look how Leclerc asked his engineer to shut up in Austria 2019. There have been cases like that from Vettel, Hamilton, Max, Raikkonen, etc. You know who didn’t react like that? Those who were never in such tense scenarios.

[DiogoBrand]

Are people still going over this? Lando is a young talented driver who was on his way to his first win and when the rain started he had everything to lose. Also he was driving with slicks on a damp track and had already made a few mistakes because of that, so he needed to concentrate like he never did in his life. Anyone saying it's inexcusable to get nervous in that situation doesn't know what they're saying.

It's easy to say what he should have done after the fact, here in Brazil we call those people something like "engineer of a finished construction".

[diffuser]

Daniel had nothing to loose, really. That’s not a fair comparison. You also need to hear the full radio: Lando was 100% in control of the race, and very calm.

You need to compare with others in similar situations. Look how Leclerc asked his engineer to shut up in Austria 2019. There have been cases like that from Vettel, Hamilton, Max, Raikkonen, etc. You know who didn’t react like that? Those who were never in such tense scenarios.

Daniel said something like "I couldn't keep it on the track so it was a no brainer for me". Daniel had changed his tires much earlier than Lando, hence, had more laps, less carcass and therefore lost heat much faster than Lando's tires. That is probably why Daniel came in so early.

[diffuser]

Are people still going over this? Lando is a young talented driver who was on his way to his first win and when the rain started he had everything to lose. Also he was driving with slicks on a damp track and had already made a few mistakes because of that, so he needed to concentrate like he never did in his life. Anyone saying it's inexcusable to get nervous in that situation doesn't know what they're saying.

It's easy to say what he should have done after the fact, here in Brazil we call those people something like "engineer of a finished construction".

Yep tough call. The only thing you can fault him for really, is not being more open to advise from his engineer. He'll learn from this and be better for it.

[FittingMechanics]

Daniel said something like "I couldn't keep it on the track so it was a no brainer for me". Daniel had changed his tires much earlier than Lando, hence, had more laps, less carcass and therefore lost heat much faster than Lando's tires. That is probably why Daniel came in so early.

Also Daniel was 40-50 seconds behind Norris which means they were on the opposite sides of the track. With the way this rain suddenly came to a part of the track, it's possible Ricciardo saw the rain before Norris did.

Btw, hypothetical question, what do you think would have happened if Hamilton overtook Norris when Norris went wide? I feel McLaren would probably go for inters as they had free pitstop against P3, or at least do the opposite of Hamilton. Big question is would Hamilton go for inters while Norris is 2s behind.

[Gillian]

Daniel said something like "I couldn't keep it on the track so it was a no brainer for me". Daniel had changed his tires much earlier than Lando, hence, had more laps, less carcass and therefore lost heat much faster than Lando's tires. That is probably why Daniel came in so early.

Also Daniel was 40-50 seconds behind Norris which means they were on the opposite sides of the track. With the way this rain suddenly came to a part of the track, it's possible Ricciardo saw the rain before Norris did.

Btw, hypothetical question, what do you think would have happened if Hamilton overtook Norris when Norris went wide? I feel McLaren would probably go for inters as they had free pitstop against P3, or at least do the opposite of Hamilton. Big question is would Hamilton go for inters while Norris is 2s behind.

To answer your second question, Toto claims they boxed Hamilton because Verstappen went for inters (check my post history for the full quote). So they probably would have boxed him regardless of what Norris would have done.

[Darth-Piekus]

Guys it was a matter of luck. You never know how the rain would escalate. It would have stayed like this so Norris would be able to hold the car for 2 more laps in front, it would have gone stronger like it happened or it would have rained a little and then changed direction passing the track.

[McL-H]

Daniel said something like "I couldn't keep it on the track so it was a no brainer for me". Daniel had changed his tires much earlier than Lando, hence, had more laps, less carcass and therefore lost heat much faster than Lando's tires. That is probably why Daniel came in so early.

Also Daniel was 40-50 seconds behind Norris which means they were on the opposite sides of the track. With the way this rain suddenly came to a part of the track, it's possible Ricciardo saw the rain before Norris did.

Btw, hypothetical question, what do you think would have happened if Hamilton overtook Norris when Norris went wide? I feel McLaren would probably go for inters as they had free pitstop against P3, or at least do the opposite of Hamilton. Big question is would Hamilton go for inters while Norris is 2s behind.

To answer your second question, Toto claims they boxed Hamilton because Verstappen went for inters (check my post history for the full quote). So they probably would have boxed him regardless of what Norris would have done.

That’s the entire point. McLaren should have looked at this from Mercedes’ perspective. As soon as I saw Max pit for inters, I was 99% sure they would be pitting Hamilton. They couldn’t afford the risk, from being in front of Max. THAT is their race. McLaren pitwall should have told Lando to box as soon as they saw Max was boxing. But they were too focused on themselves, disregarding Hamilton’s championship fight.

I don’t blame them. They did what they thought was right. They are not used to fighting at the front anymore. Lando got stressed out, making communication with him difficult… who can blame the kid fighting for his first ever F1 win?

I am sure the team will learn from this. Yesterday, it was disappointment that dominated. In hindsight, I really enjoyed yesterday’s race. It was exciting. It just didn’t happen to go our way. But the team and both Lando and Daniel did a great job up to lap 48. Disregarding the pitstop, obviously.

[FittingMechanics]

That’s the entire point. McLaren should have looked at this from Mercedes’ perspective. As soon as I saw Max pit for inters, I was 99% sure they would be pitting Hamilton. They couldn’t afford the risk, from being in front of Max. THAT is their race. McLaren pitwall should have told Lando to box as soon as they saw Max was boxing. But they were too focused on themselves, disregarding Hamilton’s championship fight.

I don’t blame them. They did what they thought was right. They are not used to fighting at the front anymore. Lando got stressed out, making communication with him difficult… who can blame the kid fighting for his first ever F1 win?

I am sure the team will learn from this. Yesterday, it was disappointment that dominated. In hindsight, I really enjoyed yesterday’s race. It was exciting. It just didn’t happen to go our way. But the team and both Lando and Daniel did a great job up to lap 48. Disregarding the pitstop, obviously.

I was wondering if McLaren could know that Mercedes will pit, they already bluffed once and Hamilton disregarded the call once. This is enough for me, they should have told Norris that Hamilton will pit (even if they were not sure) and that he should come in.

It was a really small window but for a top of the line strategy team, this is doable. They will improve the process for the future.

Yeah, exciting race, not just potential win but the whole weekend where we showed good pace. We need to realize that without Mercedes making a mistake in Q3, we would start behind both Mercedes. If Max did not take an engine, we'd probably start P4 or worse.

[saputra_25]

It is so heart breaking, even after >24h ago waching this paifull reality.

Just reading Seidl notes of the event. A trully great team boss attitude, unlike the departed EB (who just talking big), TW (who wants to have a full control and dictate every single thing), or CH+HM (who keep talking sh**)

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/deva ... n/6677118/

[diffuser]

Daniel said something like "I couldn't keep it on the track so it was a no brainer for me". Daniel had changed his tires much earlier than Lando, hence, had more laps, less carcass and therefore lost heat much faster than Lando's tires. That is probably why Daniel came in so early.

Also Daniel was 40-50 seconds behind Norris which means they were on the opposite sides of the track. With the way this rain suddenly came to a part of the track, it's possible Ricciardo saw the rain before Norris did.

Btw, hypothetical question, what do you think would have happened if Hamilton overtook Norris when Norris went wide? I feel McLaren would probably go for inters as they had free pitstop against P3, or at least do the opposite of Hamilton. Big question is would Hamilton go for inters while Norris is 2s behind.

To answer your second question, Toto claims they boxed Hamilton because Verstappen went for inters (check my post history for the full quote). So they probably would have boxed him regardless of what Norris would have done.

Yep, Hamilton wasn't racing Norris at that point, he was racing Verstappen. Do whatever Max does as long as you finish ahead of him.