This forum contains threads to discuss teams themselves. Anything not technical about the cars, including restructuring, performances etc belongs here.
Team: McLaren F1 Team Base: McLaren Technology Centre Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom Team principal(s): Zak Brown (CEO), Andrea Stella (TP) Technical director(s): James Key (TD)
Hopefully the MCL37 will bridge that gap a bit more, obviously we will all be very happy if it comes out the blocks and its very quick... But I think more importantly I hope the team have achieved a good baseline and concept that they are happy to further develop...
Its important the in-season development goes to plan (unlike last year), especially with the new windtunnel (I'd assume its in a testing/diagnosis stage atp) coming in mid year, that transitional phase will probably be quite sensitive, but I'm sure they have a plan, and all we can do is hope that they can see that plan through as smoothly as possible.
The team needs to improve race pace big time, it would be nice to at least make the top 3 think about them during the race.
Q: (Stefano Mancini – La Stampa) Kimi, will you help Vettel to win his championship this year?
Kimi Raikkonen: I can only drive one car, obviously.
@2018 Singapore Grand Prix drivers press conference.
As Seidl said last year, McLaren are a couple of years off. He’s now left, which says everything you need to know. If there was something exciting to stick around for, he’d still be there. Zak stated the team would not see the benefit of the new wind tunnel until 2025 either.
Unfortunately, I can’t see McLaren making any real progress this year. The top 3 are miles ahead.
A comfortable top 4 is already gonna be a big ask, let alone top 3.
Top 4 is practically the maximum, that's what Zak said is the target. But it would be nice to see them produce a more complete package. It's frustrating to see mostly Lando do some qualifying heroics and then get rinsed during the race. I'd like to see a more competitive Sunday car, one that can take advantage of a bad start, botched stop or penalty for any of the top 3. Not necessarily only when they get a DNF.
Q: (Stefano Mancini – La Stampa) Kimi, will you help Vettel to win his championship this year?
Kimi Raikkonen: I can only drive one car, obviously.
@2018 Singapore Grand Prix drivers press conference.
The season hasn't even started, and there's gloom and doom...based on what?
Zak could have stopped him from leaving until the end of the contract period. But that means they would be sending Seidl to VW when he knows partly/completely about 2026 plans of McLaren. They would have to put him on a gardening leave. Letting him leave amicably is much better for everyone involved.
More importantly, if he leaves around 2026 directly to the Porsche team, it would be much easier for Porsche to poach employees from McLaren. But now, poaching employees from McLaren to Alfa Romeo is not necessarily as easy as poaching them to Porsche. This also gives McLaren 2 years to up their game and remain attractive as an employer to retain talent around the time VW enters F1. I would say Zak did the right thing by releasing him early.
A tiny bit of tinfoil hat moment - Seidl came to McLaren from VW group, and that's where he's headed again. Will you completely rule out the possibility that Seidl came into McLaren to gain F1 experience so that he will understand the infrastructure requirements, skills and competencies, identify the employees (not necessarily from McLaren, but from the whole paddock to poach) who will prove valuable for the team, and be ready to lead the Porsche team when they arrive? Nothing wrong with it; if I were the VW racing division chief I would send a trusted insider to do a pilot study like that. I'm merely replying to the "if there was something exciting to stick around for, he’d still be there" bit.
As Seidl said last year, McLaren are a couple of years off. He’s now left, which says everything you need to know. If there was something exciting to stick around for, he’d still be there. Zak stated the team would not see the benefit of the new wind tunnel until 2025 either.
Unfortunately, I can’t see McLaren making any real progress this year. The top 3 are miles ahead.
It's a bit more than not seeing anything to stick around for, he got a big career move, I think he's on par with Zak as per position. Audi isn't a small company, that said, absolutely no guarantees they'll be successful. But he definitely got a bigger role. Vowels left Mercedes for a bigger post in Williams, as did Paddy Lowe a few years ago. Besides, Zak said Seidl was prepared to stay with Mclaren till his contract expired, buy Zak preferred to transition sooner than later.
Q: (Stefano Mancini – La Stampa) Kimi, will you help Vettel to win his championship this year?
Kimi Raikkonen: I can only drive one car, obviously.
@2018 Singapore Grand Prix drivers press conference.
A comfortable top 4 is already gonna be a big ask, let alone top 3.
Despite some problems with the '22 chassis, it was quite close to 4th place in the Constructors' Cup, if the co-pilot had scored at least half of Lando's points.
I'm excited, Oscar seems to get on better with the Mclaren in the sims, even if he's not quite on Lando's consistancy just yet - lets face it all Mclaren needed last year really was someone matching Lando to run away with best of the rest.
the lack of ambition is already seen here. they should be hoping to be fighting for the wins at least! not aim for top 4... the engine is good, they just need to make a better car!
It's not lack of ambition. The ambition is to be winning championships again. This is about setting realistic expectations for what can actually be achieved this year.
the lack of ambition is already seen here. they should be hoping to be fighting for the wins at least! not aim for top 4... the engine is good, they just need to make a better car!
