2022 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[Marc.W]

Just woke up, why is Norris P1 in FP3?

[FittingMechanics]

Just woke up, why is Norris P1 in FP3?

Hype train was derailed but they got it back on track!

[SmallSoldier]

Nothing to hide… It’s Qualy time!

Let’s hope it is a good session for the team

[Marc.W]

This is certainly looking promising, I've noticed McLaren are doing 2 cool down laps and then doing another lap

[FittingMechanics]

I think it is clear that Mercedes engine is struggling. It's very unlikely that all Mercedes teams lost relative to the other engine teams.

Hopefully Mercedes will solve the issues and we'll get a "free upgrade".

[Darth-Piekus]

I think it is clear that Mercedes engine is struggling. It's very unlikely that all Mercedes teams lost relative to the other engine teams.

Hopefully Mercedes will solve the issues and we'll get a "free upgrade".

The question is how much of an upgrade that will be. If it could give 1 second of an upgrade that both Mclaren and Mercedes are missing then they are pretty much contenders.

On another note Mclaren are much better here and very close to Alfa Romeo and Alpine. Did they bring any updates? Haas on the other hand are left leagues behind in just two races.

[SmallSoldier]

I think it is clear that Mercedes engine is struggling. It's very unlikely that all Mercedes teams lost relative to the other engine teams.

Hopefully Mercedes will solve the issues and we'll get a "free upgrade".

I wouldn’t say that… It’s simply that the Mercedes teams are struggling… A couple of weeks ago the Haas was clearly faster than most in the midfield, today is nowhere.

If Australia is teaching us anything is that we (the fans) don’t have a single clue of what drives performance in these cars… Clearly the likes of Mercedes and McLaren are running larger rear wings to compensate for lack of grip and that’s influencing top speeds.

McLaren itself was way behind Mercedes and so far the MCL36 looks faster in Australia… Both are using the same engine… There is so much lap time to be found between setup and optimization in these cars that we can’t make an assessment just yet.

[FittingMechanics]

The question is how much of an upgrade that will be. If it could give 1 second of an upgrade that both Mclaren and Mercedes are missing then they are pretty much contenders.

On another note Mclaren are much better here and very close to Alfa Romeo and Alpine. Did they bring any updates? Haas on the other hand are left leagues behind in just two races.

I think that McLaren suffered massively because they did not get a lot of running in Bahrain (testing). The lack of laps for understanding of the car plus a big issue with brakes hampered them heavily. As we go through the races, this lack of laps from testing becomes less significant as we get plenty of running in races.

I still think the easiest explanation for lack of pace of Mercedes, McLaren, Aston and Williams is that the engine is weaker on power (relative to the others) than last year. It still could be the most powerful engine but if it is, it does not have as big of a gap as last year.

[Darth-Piekus]

True but maybe the Mercedes engine was supposed to have that big gap to the other engines but somehow a fundamental flow is not helping unlock it. I am very curious to see how much of an upgrade will the Mercedes teams get when the engine runs normally.

[Xero]

Only Mercedes will know the true story. Could just be their design doesn't compliment the new E10 fuel, and we're stuck with this for the next 4 years. Looking at lap traces, I'm guessing it's more electrical with all the clipping we're seeing. But again, nobody outside the teams will know that.

Looking promising so far! Both cars in Q3 would be fantastic progress.

[FittingMechanics]

Mega lap from Ricciardo. He went out on used sofls and is only a tenth behind Norris. Looks good!

[Darth-Piekus]

On another note look at the time of Alonso. Lap of clear talent there.

[FittingMechanics]

On another note look at the time of Alonso. Lap of clear talent there.

Yeah. That's the annoying part. McLaren seems to work well but at the same time, Alpine seems to as well.

[Darth-Piekus]

On another note look at the time of Alonso. Lap of clear talent there.

Yeah. That's the annoying part. McLaren seems to work well but at the same time, Alpine seems to as well.

I would say it's more the talent of Fernando Alonso than the car. Look at where Ocon is.

[FittingMechanics]

I would say it's more the talent of Fernando Alonso than the car. Look at where Ocon is.

Agreed.

Both cars in Q3!!! Hype hype!