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Arrrgh, Im so frustrated right now!!! WTF are McLaren doing putting Dan on the Hards, even the Ferrari's are struggling with them - the track is too cold for them!!!!
Yeah I said before the last stop please not hards, but I guess they thought it was the best at the time with the remaining tyres left. DId he not have some softs left to go on? He needs more mediums until they can figure out why he has trouble making the hards work at times imo
We need to always keep context in mind… Daniel pitted in Lap 46 for his set of Hards, he pitted ahead of Stroll, Vettel and Gasly… Therefore, there was no way for the team to know which tires each one of those were planning on running.
In addition, neither Daniel nor Lando had new sets of Softs available, they had 1 new set of Mediums and 1 of Hard for the race.
Finally, Lando pitted on lap 42 for Hards and did laps of 1:24.2 and 1:23.7 while Daniel was running 1:25.0… During the last stint, Lando was running on the mid 1:23.XX while Daniel’s best lap on the Hards was a 1:24.3 and he was running really on the mid to high’s 1:24.XX… Going for the Hards wasn’t really the issue as proven by his Team Mate
And the Alpines did a one stop and managed to get the cars home in the points on the hards.
They got lucky because they were slow as hell on the hard tires!
They were, but they managed to get the maximum points put of the race, in fact more then that as they were not as quick as mclaren this weekend so in reality should have been behind both mclaren cars. Which is where Ricciardo let the team down in qualifying.
While Lando has been great outdriving the car, we still finished 78 seconds behind the leaders. Have to be blunt here the current situation I liken it to one guy being better at polishing a turd than the other. The car is neither fast or good to drive (currently) but as I said I still think it has potential. Sorry but have to laugh or will just cry at the situation we are in compared to where Ferrari are now. I just hope they can get back on track with this car by next year and somehow make a big leap forward like Ferrari did. When we have a decent car (one that was promised to the incoming driver) that handles normally and is fast I'll worry about Ricciardo if he still isn't able to do what we know he is capable of but in the meantime the car continues to be substandard , miles off a WCC challenger and obviously is the main issue. The team and drivers know it, hence why they are just trying to get on with making the car better rather than wasting time focusing on a driver merry go round and ejecting a proven race winning driver with a big upside when the car is strong.
I dont think you will find many people arguing the car is good or fast. But, in many times and especially qualifying for the last 2 races the car is faster and better then Ricciardos performances.
He may improve if the car improves but that's not a given, he needs to be judged in the car as it is and against his team mate.
And he's hardly driving round in a back marker, it nay not be a car in the top but it's ahead of many others.
No ones saying he shouldn't improve particularly qualli, I'm just debating the weight currently put on the results in this average, quirky car that obviously still doesn't play to his strengths (yet) and given what he has done in many other teams before this. Until I see him in a car that is well balanced and quick like he has had in the past and what the team promised him I don't think it's clear enough to say this is all he has got and he should be dumped from the team. They know the direction they want to go in and where Dan has come from in the past and are working towards that along with Lando who wants the same thing in a car. It makes no big difference at the moment swapping drivers around, Jesus himself couldn't drag it much further up the grid and again Dan brings alot to the team on the whole, there is noone else like him in F1 nor another McLaren race winner in the last 10 years. They just need to focus on the car and continuity like they are doing and play the odds which given Dan;s track record in many different cars are in his favour in regards to coming good when the car is good. Besides its not like last 5 races he hasn't improved either.
Last edited by runningmanz on 01 Aug 2022, 09:12, edited 1 time in total.
Just because the car isn't a challenger, it's still better then 5 other teams and on par with the Alpine.
There are still expectations baser on that. And those expectations are to be getting 7th and 8th in a battle.
He may have improved, im not sure, but his qualifying in the last 2 races have been terrible in comparison with his team mate and the direct competitor.
He should have started above the Alpines, and then would have likely had a comfy 8th place.
His problems and the team problems stem from his qualifying. His car was better then messing around with Aston Martins or Alfa Tauris this weekend.
Yeah he needs to improve for sure at times particularly qualli but I think your missing the main point, its not that black and white. This new reg car being another reset this year is still relatively unnatural in some respects with his driving style and not easy to drive, even Lando said it himself. I thought it was pretty obvious to see this given he hasn't had these issues with any other teams.
Why should he try to relearn his driving style to suit a slow, uniquely quirky car that is a moving target in regards to development and philosphy and currently takes away his strengths? Thats why the team are actively working on improving it more towards his driving style and a more traditional handling car as much as possible which even Lando himself wants because its easier to drive and extract the limit from for both guys.
Until that happens he will still have struggles at times (but less as this new reg car evolution continues) but it doesn't mean the the reward at the end isn;t worth it. That reward being fighting at the front for the WCC. Thats where the bigger picture comes in and not about just getting aggro at some of the short term results. Thats how I believe the team view things at the moment and a big part of the reason why he is still there and Zak and Andreas' answers to the speculation haven't changed.
Last edited by runningmanz on 01 Aug 2022, 11:04, edited 3 times in total.
I don't know how you can make the argument for George? His teammates were Kubica and Latifi in his beginning years... I understand the last part obviously we wont truly know his true potential until he's in the thick of a championship battle .
More about him taking the car to another level entirely and being very clearly top class from the get go. Dropping straight into a Mercedes and making a mockery of Bottas to boot. Fighting alongside one of the best F1 drivers ever now and holding his own just proves his class.
And what makes you say that Lando would not be able to do exactly the same?
Nothing made me say that, because I didn't say that.
I said he was a slow burner and we can't yet put him in the top category as he hasn't fought at that level yet. As much as we believe in him, he is yet to prove it at the top of F1.
I really wonder if the theory from Damon Hill is on point. Lando and Carlos are both from the home simulator generation and Daniel hasn’t grown up driving “without feedback”.
Iirc the theory was that as a result he isn’t able to just trust the car as much because it’s not communicating consistently with him.
I’m in my late 40’s and while I love my sim rig, I find it very very hard to put in consistent laps and not make mistakes.
However when I’m driving a go kart in real life, I’m much more confident and consistent because I can feel the grip I have.
Remember guys, Lando was not racing the first 6 cars, that boat has sailed.
His job was finishing in front of the Alpines, irrespective of top speeds or lowest lap times.
He did his job not looked for numbers.
When arguing with a fool, be sure the other person is not doing the same thing.
More about him taking the car to another level entirely and being very clearly top class from the get go. Dropping straight into a Mercedes and making a mockery of Bottas to boot. Fighting alongside one of the best F1 drivers ever now and holding his own just proves his class.
And what makes you say that Lando would not be able to do exactly the same?
Nothing made me say that, because I didn't say that.
I said he was a slow burner and we can't yet put him in the top category as he hasn't fought at that level yet. As much as we believe in him, he is yet to prove it at the top of F1.
He cant prove he is a top driver without a top car. To do so, you need to put him in a top car.
He did prove he can extract maximum out of non-optimal package though. And it is better to be slow burner getting better and better, than burning out right away.
If i would get the money to start my own F1 team, i would revive Arrows
And what makes you say that Lando would not be able to do exactly the same?
Nothing made me say that, because I didn't say that.
I said he was a slow burner and we can't yet put him in the top category as he hasn't fought at that level yet. As much as we believe in him, he is yet to prove it at the top of F1.
He cant prove he is a top driver without a top car. To do so, you need to put him in a top car.
He did prove he can extract maximum out of non-optimal package though. And it is better to be slow burner getting better and better, than burning out right away.
Indeed, he won races against Mercedes with an underpowered Renault PU and blew Vettel away at the same time.
Mclaren really need to sort their handling philosophy out!
