2021 Mclaren F1 Team

[adrianjordan]

50% responsible. The other half of the blame lies on Ron Dennis

The matrix structure was implemented by him...not sure if it was his idea or Ron's

It was absolutely Ron's idea. He wanted to replace Newey's raw talent with sheer numbers in a way. This happened after Newey signed a contract with Jaguar when Ron tried to cut his salary. Ron hired Newey back but diluted his influence with the matrix and the associated mullahs.

Eventually, Newey was turfed out by Whitmarsh and the mullahs and Ron thought he was successful because they made good cars in 07 and 08

"Turfed out" is a weird way of wording it. He was lured away by Red Bull with a promise of more money, more freedom and the opportunity to be involved in other projects - the most high profile being the RBR Hypercar which they ended up building with Aston.

[SmallSoldier]

Interesting weekend ahead… The last couple of years Sochi hasn’t been very kind to McLaren, last year we were introducing a new front wing (which I don’t think was used again afterwards) that compromised Lando and of course, we had Sainz crash on the opening lap… Hopefully the trend is changed this year, the MCL35M seems to be a clear step from the MCL35 and with a power sensitive track and the Mercedes PU it could be a better weekend than previous years.

The question is how will the team stack to the competition, specifically Ferrari… On paper, this track should be a difficult one for them due to the long straights, but their chassis is clearly good… Let’s hope we can lead the midfield in Qualifying!

[SmallSoldier]

Leclerc’s car will be fitted with the new engine for Sochi, which means that he will start from the back of the grid on the race.

[Emag]

Let's see how much performance that new engine will bring for them. I am kind of scared, but hey, this was coming for them anyway.

[Ground Effect]

Interesting weekend ahead… The last couple of years Sochi hasn’t been very kind to McLaren, last year we were introducing a new front wing (which I don’t think was used again afterwards) that compromised Lando and of course, we had Sainz crash on the opening lap… Hopefully the trend is changed this year, the MCL35M seems to be a clear step from the MCL35 and with a power sensitive track and the Mercedes PU it could be a better weekend than previous years.

The question is how will the team stack to the competition, specifically Ferrari… On paper, this track should be a difficult one for them due to the long straights, but their chassis is clearly good… Let’s hope we can lead the midfield in Qualifying!

Renault was strong there last year, so I’m expecting them to be in the mix.

[saputra_25]

weather forecast is interesting, a mix of wet and dry during the course of the weekend.

[Ground Effect]

Let's see how much performance that new engine will bring for them. I am kind of scared, but hey, this was coming for them anyway.

According to Motorsport.com, the update is expected to translate to less than 10bhp. Still, should help them out.

[CjC]

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/ferra ... p/6672699/

Autosport are reporting that the Ferrari PU upgrade is less than 10hp, however I still feel this will edge them ahead of Mclaren come the end of the season- unless Ric and Lando can be more evenly matched for the remaining races so both cars finish in decent points paying positions regularly
I am a bit glass half empty about Mclarens prospects for the remaining season against Ferrari but on the other hand they they have clearly taken a step ahead of last seasons rivals Renault and the Stroll team so that’s something to be pleased with.
Also I dare say the token system didn’t do Mclaren any favours compared to Ferrari this season

[the EDGE]

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/ferra ... p/6672699/

Autosport are reporting that the Ferrari PU upgrade is less than 10hp, however I still feel this will edge them ahead of Mclaren come the end of the season- unless Ric and Lando can be more evenly matched for the remaining races so both cars finish in decent points paying positions regularly
I am a bit glass half empty about Mclarens prospects for the remaining season against Ferrari but on the other hand they they have clearly taken a step ahead of last seasons rivals Renault and the Stroll team so that’s something to be pleased with.
Also I dare say the token system didn’t do Mclaren any favours compared to Ferrari this season

Being able to take advantage of the latest rear suspension geometry direction certainly would have been a plus, but it is what it is

I think, until the run of 3 disastrous races, McLaren, or at least Lando showed they were the team to beat of the midfield, then they had their best result in a decade

It’s going to be a battle to then end for sure, but my glass is not only half full, it just got topped up by an Italian barrister

We have a chassis that has performed well at nearly every circuit & now 2 drivers who have over-achieved this year

Bring it on!

[SmallSoldier]

The good thing is that there aren’t any really “bad tracks” for McLaren moving forward… We are passed the ones expected to be a challenge (Spain, Monaco, Hungary, Zandvoort) and with Singapore not on the calendar, the rest of the season is compromise of tracks where the car shouldn’t struggle too much (the balance may still be in Ferrari’s favor in some of those, but not with a very large advantage)… The Team can fight at every venue until season end… Similar situation for Ferrari, there aren’t many tracks left where the MCL35M should have a clear advantage

It will be an exciting last third of the season!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[genarro]

50% responsible. The other half of the blame lies on Ron Dennis

The matrix structure was implemented by him...not sure if it was his idea or Ron's

It was absolutely Ron's idea. He wanted to replace Newey's raw talent with sheer numbers in a way. This happened after Newey signed a contract with Jaguar when Ron tried to cut his salary. Ron hired Newey back but diluted his influence with the matrix and the associated mullahs.

Eventually, Newey was turfed out by Whitmarsh and the mullahs and Ron thought he was successful because they made good cars in 07 and 08

If you watched the film by THE RACE, Edd Straw said that the matrix structure was Whitmarsh's idea ant not Rons...anyhow i think that he is not missed in the team

[the EDGE]

McLaren were scuppered by three things

A) The loss of Adrian Newey – Ron Denis’ fault

B) The decision to go radical in 2013

C) The loss of Mercedes EU – Ron’s Denis’ fault

Everything else was quite frankly consequential, personally I’ve never blamed Whitmarsh any of this, I thought he was a great asset to the team and Aston Martin made a very good decision in hiring him

[mclaren111]

McLaren were scuppered by three things

A) The loss of Adrian Newey – Ron Denis’ fault

B) The decision to go radical in 2013

C) The loss of Mercedes EU – Ron’s Denis’ fault

Everything else was quite frankly consequential, personally I’ve never blamed Whitmarsh any of this, I thought he was a great asset to the team and Aston Martin made a very good decision in hiring him

Disgree... The Honda decision was correct but the timeframe required by Ron was the big mistake...

[FittingMechanics]

McLaren were scuppered by three things

A) The loss of Adrian Newey – Ron Denis’ fault

B) The decision to go radical in 2013

C) The loss of Mercedes EU – Ron’s Denis’ fault

Everything else was quite frankly consequential, personally I’ve never blamed Whitmarsh any of this, I thought he was a great asset to the team and Aston Martin made a very good decision in hiring him

I think the biggest factor is that McLaren did not have a junior team, so Honda had to hit the ground running and when that did not happen McLaren felt that they are held back by Honda. If the team had McLaren junior team they could have got Honda to run for a year or two there, see what works and what doesn't work and then with much better understanding go forward. I still think that McLaren could use a junior team, but given that they are defacto a customer of Mercedes, this is slightly negated.

Red Bull in the end had two "junior" teams, McLaren which did the initial development work for them and then Torro Rosso.

Adrian Newey is ofcourse monumental loss but he left in 2006 so it's not like everything fell apart immediately after he left.

[Morteza]