2023 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[mwillems]

[MrGapes]

https://www.mclaren.com/racing/2023/sau ... r-mclaren/


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Stella:

In part, the infrastructure relates to better hardware and technologies, such as the much-talked-about wind tunnel, which will replace the facility we rent from Toyota in Cologne, Germany. There is also the new and improved simulator, which will take the place of the one currently at the MTC.

These are the headline-grabbing additions, but they are far from the only physical enhancements being installed.

Asked what we can expect, Andrea says: “The new wind tunnel is for aerodynamic development, and the new simulator is for performance assessment and development, but there will also be an entirely new composite manufacturing facility that will improve our capacity to build a car quickly and efficiently. And we have also invested in machines for metal manufacturing and some other aspects of manufacturing and bench testing.

[MrGapes]

“Then, towards the end of the season, we want to start to challenge that next group. If we maximise our potential through development, we think this is a realistic target for the year. We do this through setting clear objectives for the team and the various working groups, and with efficiency and teamwork.”

So he definitely thinks they can challenge at the front by the end, even I’m a bit sceptical, but obviously they are cooking something


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[CjC]

Hopefully they are cooking something new instead of following either Red Bulls, Ferraris or Mercedes recipe

[Stig14]

Hopefully they are cooking something new instead of following either Red Bulls, Ferraris or Mercedes recipe

Hopefully the are cooking something fast regardless of the development avenue identified. Different for different's sake is not something to strive for IMO.

[continuum16]

A few thoughts after time to decompress from Bahrain:

1) Good to see Stella give some insight into other investments and improvements. Clearly the last few years it has been clear that manufacturing has not been the team's strong suit. Also shows that the team is re-investing the money it has received through MTC lease, MSP (or whatever they're called) investment, etc. over the last 24 months.

2) The recent bullish comments are nice after a launch laden with doses of "realism" and all, but unless the team is under external pressure from sponsors etc. to put a positive spin on things, it seems risky to build expectations like this. Under-promise and over-deliver seems like a better route, but maybe we don't know the full story, or maybe they really do have some crazy developments coming; who knows. History has shown us that not since 2009 has a car really been so transformed by an update with near immediate effect; even the Aston B-spec took until well after the summer break to really pick up the pace despite coming in race 5 or 6 last season.

A genuine question (maybe its own thread? idk), not meaning to be sarcastic:
What makes people think that McLaren will be able to get back to the front? Since the turn of the millennium, 46 championships have been won (23 WDC, 23 WCC). McLaren has 1 (HAM '08). Objectively, that's not a very high hit rate. Sure, McLaren was good in the 80s and late 90s, but if success in the 80s and 90s won you championships in 2023, McLaren and Williams would be far ahead of the field. As someone who has followed the sport for over a decade but not forever, I'm curious.

[Macklaren]

A genuine question (maybe its own thread? idk), not meaning to be sarcastic:
What makes people think that McLaren will be able to get back to the front? Since the turn of the millennium, 46 championships have been won (23 WDC, 23 WCC). McLaren has 1 (HAM '08). Objectively, that's not a very high hit rate. Sure, McLaren was good in the 80s and late 90s, but if success in the 80s and 90s won you championships in 2023, McLaren and Williams would be far ahead of the field. As someone who has followed the sport for over a decade but not forever, I'm curious.

Well they won another (2007 WCC) until Max's vindictiveness robbed us of it.
Also in your count, how many times did they finish P2 or P3 within that 46? HAM was technically in contention for the title until the last race in 2012.
It shows that with a good engine partner, good stable people and good infrastructure, this team can fight at the front.

[Mostlyeels]

Also Stella:

“The first one on Lando’s car was power unit related,” he begins. “It wasn’t necessarily visible in anything other than the outcome, but it was effectively because of the energy deployment stopping, which was caused by a software problem. This proved costly for Lando, as it caused him to lose two positions.

From the FIA press conference: https://www.fia.com/news/f1-2023-saudi- ... transcript

Q: So the pace of the car is good enough for points and Q3, do you think?

LN: Q3 not yet, not possible to be in Q3 in Bahrain so we know, in terms of pace we have a lot of work to do.

And a little bit more detail on the wiring harness and pneumatic valve issues.

Q: (Simon Lazenby – Sky Sports) Lando, you were accentuating the positives there but the fact remained it was six pitstops for you last week. Oscar’s race only lasted 13 laps. By McLaren’s high standards, obviously not where you expected to be. Is it too soon to call it a crisis? And how frustrated are you about the fact that apparent flaws with this year's car were spotted so late in the development process?

LN: No, it’s far from that. Oscar’s problem, it was an issue that we've had the first time we've seen in years and years and years, so confident that's fixed and from my issue, Mercedes are sure that they fixed that and it was, again, something which hasn't happened for years and years. So both quite rare issues. And both things that we’re confident, both from HPP side and from McLaren side that are fixed.

[AR3-GP]

Mclaren/Lando have been a lightning rod for Merc PU issues. The number of Merc PU issues Lando has had in the last 2 years, is more than Hamilton has had w/ the same engine since 2014

[CjC]

Hopefully they are cooking something new instead of following either Red Bulls, Ferraris or Mercedes recipe

Hopefully the are cooking something fast regardless of the development avenue identified. Different for different's sake is not something to strive for IMO.

I wasn’t necessarily talking about car development but the infrastructure development Stella was talking about.

[Stig14]

Hopefully they are cooking something new instead of following either Red Bulls, Ferraris or Mercedes recipe

Hopefully the are cooking something fast regardless of the development avenue identified. Different for different's sake is not something to strive for IMO.

I wasn’t necessarily talking about car development but the infrastructure development Stella was talking about.

My same comment applies then. We should be hoping for infrastructure developments that allow McLaren to progress from where they are today rather than simply having a different "recipe" for the sake of it. It's certainly encouraging that the team are making more and more noises about the new infrastructure so they're clearly excited by it all

[CjC]

Hopefully the are cooking something fast regardless of the development avenue identified. Different for different's sake is not something to strive for IMO.

I wasn’t necessarily talking about car development but the infrastructure development Stella was talking about.

My same comment applies then. We should be hoping for infrastructure developments that allow McLaren to progress from where they are today rather than simply having a different "recipe" for the sake of it. It's certainly encouraging that the team are making more and more noises about the new infrastructure so they're clearly excited by it all

Thought you might say that
I agree Mclaren need to get/do what the top 3 teams are doing but they need to find a new thing or a better way to go about racing to supersede them.

IMO when Red Bull came into the sport they kinda tore up the F1 business model and have been reaping its rewards for nearly 2 decades now. You could argue that the 2 grandee teams at the time of Red Bull racings inception are the 2 teams who have struggled the most ever since.

Looking forward to what the future will bring

[mclaren111]

Good to hear the pneumatic issue wasn't from McLaren's side.

Surprised McLaren didn't say anything sooner about them not being culpable. Made their reliability look worse than it really was

They announced it was a PU issue pretty early. People just ignored it.

Modern Journalism...

[mclaren111]

@TheMcLarenZone:

Mclaren’s James Key insists the #MCL60 is not as bad as has been claimed, after all it’s not like they have to “attack” some “crazy characteristic”, they just need more “grip”.

Sounds Positive...