2022 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[CjC]

Just noticed that up until lap 13-14 they were only losing 0.6 on average to Leclerc. Then it slowly got worse and worse. It definitely seems like the lack of dry running hurt them a bit today as they obviously lost the tires massively in the end.

Leclerc had graining as well…
But yea there is more optimism that Mclaren are in the fight for P4 which is where they are really if you compare their size of operation to their rivals

[Emag]

Just noticed that up until lap 13-14 they were only losing 0.6 on average to Leclerc. Then it slowly got worse and worse. It definitely seems like the lack of dry running hurt them a bit today as they obviously lost the tires massively in the end.

Leclerc had graining as well…
But yea there is more optimism that Mclaren are in the fight for P4 which is where they are really if you compare their size of operation to their rivals

At that point he was still over a second ahead of Max and on a similar pace.

[proteus]

Good points for the championship in the battle for 4th and hopefully for more points tomorrow. I think Bottas managed to close the gap in the end due to Danny Ric pushing his tyres too hard. If we manage to gain some more points tomorrow with Mercedes getting none then we might have a chance for 3rd if we keep pushing.

Seeing Magnussen getting pushed back with the engine on and not penalized reminds me of the FIA disqualifying Senna when he was pushed back to win the race in Suzuka 1989.

Who pushed Magnussen back? You saw him been pushed back?

I can't remember if he was pushed back. Someone mentioned about Kmag getting pushed.

Nobody pushed him back.

[Xero]

Going to be a big ask to stay P5/6 tomorrow. Some points today though, that's the main thing.

Unless Mercedes are a lot better tomorrow, doesn't seem a big ask at all. Bottas only had better pace towards the end which means it's tire deg related. For a couple of laps after overtaking Magnussen Daniel had very good pace. They probably pushed hard in crucial moments for the tire and hurt them a bit.

If the same repeats tomorrow, they should be able to build a gap to Bottas with the mediums on the first stint.

Hard to tell with Magnussen holding others up, but going to be racing Bottas and Alonso tomorrow. Tyre deg was pretty high for McLaren, as you said, and that will come into play tomorrow over the length of a grand prix.

[mwillems]

If you consider that Imola is not necessarily an easy track to overtake and the fact that it was expected to be a wet qualifying, most (can’t say all, haven’t checked) teams used a high downforce configuration in order to qualify as high as possible (critical in this track)… The only one that I remember seeing with an skinnier rear wing was Hamilton.

The lack of top speed or how it tapers towards the end of the straights seems more a deployment issue than outright lack of power (although, both would have a negative impact in top speed, considering the drag of the cars)… The MCL36 could very well be more draggy and therefore losing top speed and that would explain the difference on the straights, but the improvement in cornering speed isn’t because they run a larger wing only, there is a setup / having the tires in the window component that is creating the difference

I'd seen deployment mentioned, but the fact that it happens at a very specific speed, at least at this track, suggested to me that something like a gear change was involved, since the cars would be exiting the corners at varying speeds and yet still bang on 250kph the car can't keep up.

In the Telemetry, it showed that while Charles and Max went into 8th gear on the main straight… Lando stayed in 7th gear all through (never went into 8th)… No idea the impact of this

None the less that is a very specific point to lose pace against other cars given that corner exit speeds are different.

Could you send me the telemetry that shows the gear changes? I'd not seen this before.

[adrianjordan]

Good points for the championship in the battle for 4th and hopefully for more points tomorrow. I think Bottas managed to close the gap in the end due to Danny Ric pushing his tyres too hard. If we manage to gain some more points tomorrow with Mercedes getting none then we might have a chance for 3rd if we keep pushing.

Seeing Magnussen getting pushed back with the engine on and not penalized reminds me of the FIA disqualifying Senna when he was pushed back to win the race in Suzuka 1989.

Who pushed Magnussen back? You saw him been pushed back?

I can't remember if he was pushed back. Someone mentioned about Kmag getting pushed.

You saw my comment that he was not pushed back.

[adrianjordan]

All Red Flags were warranted given the conditions and the places in which drivers were stopped

But KMag wasn't stopped, he was manoeuvring the car to get back on the track without any outside assistance.

They discussed in the Sky commentary that if you keep the engine running and do not require outside assistance, then you are not classed as having "stopped".

His car may not have been “off” but he was in a dangerous position and essentially stopped on track (not moving)… You are just grasping at straws and making it about semantics… Without knowing if he could actually get out of there or if he was beached and get stuck, it was the right call at the time, the RD can’t wait to see if the driver can actually drive out of that situation before making a decision… As we saw with Lando losing control on that same corner in his out lap for qualifying (and with several other drivers) losing it in that corner was quiet easy… There was no reason to endanger anyone else… The red flag was justified.

Rules ARE semantics, so yes, I am making it about semantics. And clutching at straws?? What?? I'm not trying to gain anything, I'm saying the same thing that several in the paddock said on air yesterday. It's other people who were saying KMag should have been excluded for a minor off.

Double waved yellows would have been sufficient for a short period until they actually knew whether he was beached. It was obvious from the replays that he was not stuck, I just rewatched it and he was stationary for less than 20 seconds.

[Darth-Piekus]

Who pushed Magnussen back? You saw him been pushed back?

I can't remember if he was pushed back. Someone mentioned about Kmag getting pushed.

Nobody pushed him back.

I must have misread then. Thought someone here said that he was pushed back.

[Big Tea]

Who pushed Magnussen back? You saw him been pushed back?

I can't remember if he was pushed back. Someone mentioned about Kmag getting pushed.

Nobody pushed him back.

I don't think track workers are allowed to push the car with the engine running now, due to energy storage.

Not 100% on this, but seem to remember hearing it.

[bauc]

Good race & points for the team, hopefully we can do the same tomorrow. Weather will play a huge part tomorrow I think.

Mclaren!

[SmallSoldier]

Good points for the championship in the battle for 4th and hopefully for more points tomorrow. I think Bottas managed to close the gap in the end due to Danny Ric pushing his tyres too hard. If we manage to gain some more points tomorrow with Mercedes getting none then we might have a chance for 3rd if we keep pushing.

Seeing Magnussen getting pushed back with the engine on and not penalized reminds me of the FIA disqualifying Senna when he was pushed back to win the race in Suzuka 1989.

Who pushed Magnussen back? You saw him been pushed back?

I can't remember if he was pushed back. Someone mentioned about Kmag getting pushed.

So you were just making stuff up? I mean, you literally said that “Seeing Magnussen getting pushed back… reminds you of…”

[SmallSoldier]

I'd seen deployment mentioned, but the fact that it happens at a very specific speed, at least at this track, suggested to me that something like a gear change was involved, since the cars would be exiting the corners at varying speeds and yet still bang on 250kph the car can't keep up.

In the Telemetry, it showed that while Charles and Max went into 8th gear on the main straight… Lando stayed in 7th gear all through (never went into 8th)… No idea the impact of this

None the less that is a very specific point to lose pace against other cars given that corner exit speeds are different.

Could you send me the telemetry that shows the gear changes? I'd not seen this before.

Lando - Orange, Max - White, Charles - Red:

[SmallSoldier]

But KMag wasn't stopped, he was manoeuvring the car to get back on the track without any outside assistance.

They discussed in the Sky commentary that if you keep the engine running and do not require outside assistance, then you are not classed as having "stopped".

His car may not have been “off” but he was in a dangerous position and essentially stopped on track (not moving)… You are just grasping at straws and making it about semantics… Without knowing if he could actually get out of there or if he was beached and get stuck, it was the right call at the time, the RD can’t wait to see if the driver can actually drive out of that situation before making a decision… As we saw with Lando losing control on that same corner in his out lap for qualifying (and with several other drivers) losing it in that corner was quiet easy… There was no reason to endanger anyone else… The red flag was justified.

Rules ARE semantics, so yes, I am making it about semantics. And clutching at straws?? What?? I'm not trying to gain anything, I'm saying the same thing that several in the paddock said on air yesterday. It's other people who were saying KMag should have been excluded for a minor off.

Double waved yellows would have been sufficient for a short period until they actually knew whether he was beached. It was obvious from the replays that he was not stuck, I just rewatched it and he was stationary for less than 20 seconds.

There is no rule regarding cars stopped on track and RD decisions to use a Yellow or Red Flag, it is his prerogative to use either… Therefore you arguing that the car wasn’t “stopped” because the engine wasn’t off, is use of semantics on your behalf, has nothing to do with rules… I’ve read your comments about the RD been “trigger happy” with the red flags in the race post too, that’s why I answered it here.

The car was indeed stationary in a section of the track that had a considerable danger of another driver spinning out in the same spot, there was an existent danger there… I tried to mention that cars were spinning out in that same spot on slow laps too, therefore double yellows wouldn’t have prevented someone from spinning there.

Also, those asking for Magnussen to be excluded, needed to read the rules… There is no rule to exclude someone because they are off in a session, he returned to the track without external assistance… I agree with you that is none sense… But that also has nothing to do with whether there was a red flag or not.

It’s a matter of opinion at the end of the day, but I do think that the red flags were warranted… Has little to do with the McLaren team, so I will leave it there

[Jambier]

Really surprised how quickly they came back to third force!

It really is incredible ! Congrats to the team

[SmallSoldier]

Really surprised how quickly they came back to third force!

It really is incredible ! Congrats to the team

Still early to call them third force… The Alpines and Alfas are very quick! It seems that the overall team operation is indeed a step ahead, running for the most part reliably and without many issues when it counts has helped them against them.