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Great result today, 18 points is a decent haul. So, what to expect in Imola, based on track characteristics?
Before the Australian race I would have thought that they would have struggled at Imola, but after their performance I don’t think we can make an honest forecast… Yes, Melbourne Park was a track that appeared to suit the car, but the performance came on the portion of the lap that on paper was the one where they were going to struggle.
Just as with seasons in the past where the motto was: “We won’t know the pecking order until after 5 races”, a similar situation is happening with the performance of the cars… And this season will be probably harder to tell since the expected development rate is very high due to them racing brand new platforms.
I did not expect them to be the fastest car after RedBull and Ferrari in S3 to be honest. That gives me hope going forward. But if we only take words from the team into consideration (well Lando mostly), then the expectation is they will not be that good on tracks with a lot of low-medium speed corners.
If this small update gave them a significant amount of time is it possible that under the new regulations a big update can make them able to mix it up with the first 3?
You keep asking questions that no one can answer… We don’t know how much the update to rear brake assembly influenced their performance this weekend, how much was actually a better setup or understanding the car a bit more, a track that suit the car better, the new tarmac, the track temperature.
Is it possible that a big update help them mix it up with the top 3? It is possible… It is also possible that they can get it wrong and go backwards or that the top 3 bring and update that increases the gap and therefore they are still where they are now… With brand new platforms, updates can have a big impact, but it’s impossible to know how much of an impact any update will be.
Great result today, 18 points is a decent haul. So, what to expect in Imola, based on track characteristics?
Before the Australian race I would have thought that they would have struggled at Imola, but after their performance I don’t think we can make an honest forecast… Yes, Melbourne Park was a track that appeared to suit the car, but the performance came on the portion of the lap that on paper was the one where they were going to struggle.
Just as with seasons in the past where the motto was: “We won’t know the pecking order until after 5 races”, a similar situation is happening with the performance of the cars… And this season will be probably harder to tell since the expected development rate is very high due to them racing brand new platforms.
I did not expect them to be the fastest car after RedBull and Ferrari in S3 to be honest. That gives me hope going forward. But if we only take words from the team into consideration (well Lando mostly), then the expectation is they will not be that good on tracks with a lot of low-medium speed corners.
The question is how much of an impact those low-medium speed corners have on the total lap time… Almost all tracks have low-medium speed corners… It’s about compromises, do you sacrifice performance on the high speed portion of the lap to lose less on the slow part or do you focus on the high speed regardless of how much you can lose on the slow portion?… I don’t think the team is wrong, it is clear that they have a deficit in the slow stuff and they seem to be sacrificing top speed (using higher DF wings) to lose less on the slow speed… Let’s consider that they haven’t brought any major updates just yet and that we may see a higher rate of development as soon as they start racing in Europe.
Norris lost six seconds over the final three laps. Team radio revealed he was instructed by race engineer Will Joseph to undergo heavy lifting and coasting over the run to the flag.
Daniel mentioned the team told him Lando had issues and might slow down suddenly. He kind of implied that he decided not to overtake Lando even tho he could have.
Yeah he was also told to stay back a bit in case Lando slowed suddenly although funny he was right up his clacker on the last lap, must have wanted to do a formation finish lol!
As discussed its promising that with only some small updates we were much better, bodes well for some big upgrades considering Seidl mentioned they understand the car better now in particular the ideal operating window and also that the brakes are not an issue anymore. Dan also said post race they found a few things in the last 2 weeks that helped. Yes the track had alot to do with it but being quick in sector 3 too was positive in that maybe we are moving in the right development direction now.
Looking at the grandstands in Albert Park, you could see many orange caps on Friday (8.4.). Of course, McLaren owes its popularity above all to local hero Daniel Ricciardo. After the constant promotion in recent years, fans had certainly hoped for a top result when buying their tickets. But currently McLaren has to bake smaller rolls.
Ricciardo's points account is still at zero. Teammate Lando Norris' seventh place in Jeddah had to be counted as a success. The new car is far behind your own expectations. "We know why. And we already have a plan for how to move forward again. Now it has to become clear how well the organisation that we have built up here in recent years works," team boss Andreas Seidl takes his team to task.
At the same time, however, the Bayer still asks the fans for some patience. The turnaround does not come overnight. In times of budget cap, you have to spend your money cleverly. Before you bring upgrades, you should be sure that they also work." The development machine in Woking has already been started. However, it should still take some time before you can see the results on the car.
For example, the engineers continued to refrain from replacing the interim solution for brake cooling on the front axle. The new version should be part of a larger package. However, Seidl did not want to reveal when this will come. The announced expansion stage will not be a departure from the current basic concept. So McLaren will not suddenly appear with side boxes like on the Ferrari.
In Melbourne, only new wings on the rear wheel carriers that had been in the pipeline for a long time were added to the FIA list with the technology innovations. They alone were certainly not the reason why it suddenly seemed a little better. After all, both cars made it into the top ten on training Friday - Lando Norris as eighth, Daniel Ricciardo in tenth place.
That was a decent day. We are right in the middle of it," Ricciardo drew a cautiously satisfied conclusion. We were able to take a good step forward in the first part of the second session. Especially with the medium tire, I felt comfortable. It hasn't worked out that way with the soft tire yet. I couldn't get everything out of it."
Lando Norris fears that progress was mainly due to the route characteristics. The McLaren MCL36 still lacks downforce. Thanks to the conversions in Albert Park, you don't need as much of it as before. But especially in slow corners, papaya racers still lose a lot of time to the competition.
"This was certainly our best Friday this year," Norris praised his team. We have realised some insights from the last races here. However, the increase only takes place in small steps. We don't suddenly get half a second or a second faster. The backlog is still large, but it is at least going in the right direction. I hope that we will see further progress tomorrow."
Chief engineer Andrea Stella hopes that you can also stay in the upper half of the table on Saturday and Sunday: "In terms of competitiveness, we seem to have taken a small step forward. We have to work hard tonight to consolidate this position. Then we can get into Q3 in qualifying and hopefully also fight for points in the race."
If I understand correctly, McLaren plans to bring a big upgrade package to fix the lack of downforce and mechanical clutch. The only question is when will this happen? Barcelona seems the most logical, but will they make it in time? The next suitable candidate is Silverstone, in three months. The rest of the tracks are not particularly conducive to testing updates.
If I understand correctly, McLaren plans to bring a big upgrade package to fix the lack of downforce and mechanical clutch. The only question is when will this happen? Barcelona seems the most logical, but will they make it in time? The next suitable candidate is Silverstone, in three months. The rest of the tracks are not particularly conducive to testing updates.
This is very reasonable and expected. If the updates do not give the required effect team will switch its focus on next year's car (meaning they have learned were they made a mistake or simply missed the DF targets)
If I understand correctly, McLaren plans to bring a big upgrade package to fix the lack of downforce and mechanical clutch. The only question is when will this happen? Barcelona seems the most logical, but will they make it in time? The next suitable candidate is Silverstone, in three months. The rest of the tracks are not particularly conducive to testing updates.
This is very reasonable and expected. If the updates do not give the required effect team will switch its focus on next year's car (meaning they have learned were they made a mistake or simply missed the DF targets)
Agreed, I just hope they'll be able to gauge end of 2022 downforce levels and set an adequate 2023 target.
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.
If I understand correctly, McLaren plans to bring a big upgrade package to fix the lack of downforce and mechanical clutch. The only question is when will this happen? Barcelona seems the most logical, but will they make it in time? The next suitable candidate is Silverstone, in three months. The rest of the tracks are not particularly conducive to testing updates.
This is very reasonable and expected. If the updates do not give the required effect team will switch its focus on next year's car (meaning they have learned were they made a mistake or simply missed the DF targets)
Agreed, I just hope they'll be able to gauge end of 2022 downforce levels and set an adequate 2023 target.
The article states that Seidl said that the concept of the car isnt flawed, so updates are probably in the pipeline. We just have to be patient because R&D takes time.
