2022 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[runningmanz]

Source is apparently ESPN:

Surely the best option on the grid now for him. This sounds promising from Alpine.

Szafnauer also said Alpine weren’t done coming fourth.

“We have an internal program called Mountain Climber, and that’s to hire an additional 75 people in strategic areas that will help improve the capabilities of this team,” he said.

“And along with the 75 people, there’s also tools that we are improving now, some simulation tools, a new simulator, expanded capacity in manufacturing, some upgrades to our wind tunnel, all with the focus on being able to win in 100 races.

“So those things are still happening here. And they’re happening fast. We’re already at a level of 850 people here.

“So I am confident that we can outdo the team that Fernando is going to, in the time period that he will be there.”

also they would remember Ricciardo's form in 2020 and how much it brought to Alpine at the time

Ricciardo scored 119 points in Renault in 2020, the best by a driver since the manufacturer’s return to the sport in 2016.

[mwillems]

Ricciardo had like 3 poor qualy's which caused bad raceresults in races where Norris finished 6th or 7th, his racepace seems mostly fine, when he is ahead of Norris McLaren were not in the points (except Baku), when Norris is ahead they were, add a few technical issues and the small firstcorner mistake in Imola (Norris podium) and the conclusion is his performance is actually pretty decent.

It's not a decent performance by any metric. At all. Neither by qualifying pace, race pace or points. The head to head is attrocious. Decent performance, lmao.

Whatever! The mob here that write Daniel off because he made the mistake of joining a team who’s car has “unique” handling characteristics that don’t inspire confidence really pi$$ me off!

Put Hamilton in the current Mclaren and you’d see him bitch and moan like he was earlier this year - compare that to Daniel who has been all class, never said a bad word about the team or car and always done his best to improve himself.

The haters here need to pull their heads in!

Nobody is writing him off, you are just very sensitive to Daniel Ricciardo critisism, large portions of which were just that they wanted him replaced in the Mclaren, not that they wish any ill on him or that he doesn't succeed somewhere else.

Literally so many Mclaren fans wishing he does well in the future but all you can see is negative. It's like the Honda split, it should work well for everyone. Some people just got tired of his lacklustre performances in our car, is that not justified?

[geogate]

sorry, but i was all for giving the guy time, but there comes a point where you have to cut your losses. That point for me was actually quite recently, namely when he said, Give me a winning car and i will win races just made me want the guy out of the car, like now. That's not what I expect to hear from him in his situation, and it is not what i expect to hear from a guy taking the pay cheque he does

[FittingMechanics]

I'm muted about Piastri signing because it hasn't been announced yet and even then, he is a new guy. Let's see him when he comes in.

But I am getting some Hamilton vibes from it. Great junior career. Let's hope we get the next Hamilton and not the next Vandoorne.

BTW. I'd be surprised if the team gave a contract to Ricciardo that guaranteed him a driving seat so I expect they can bench him with no issue (other than paying him his 20M).

[geogate]

yeah Im far from convinced Piastri is going to vastly improve the teams competitiveness - but, it is just a little bit exciting, the unknown of it but the anticipation of something special...maybe

[Ground Effect]

I like Daniel a lot, my feelings about him potentially being replaced, even with a highly regarded young driver are mixed. But I find it irrelevant to the present state of things when people go back to 2016, even 2014 to defend him. Zero doubts he's been one of the best drivers to join the grid in the last decade or so, but why are we making it sound like people can't decline in their abilities? He was amazing in Red Bull, Fernando described him as one of the best of the grid, but is he still the same driver? Can he still deliver Monza 2022 performances over a sustained period? I'm not making conclusions but if I were looking to defend Daniels 2022 performance or his abilities, I don't think it adds anything by going back to 2014.

Its not going back to 2014, examples were given of 2018 and even 2020 at Renault where he beat Ocon who is now currently giving Alonso a good battle. Lets put it this way then, are you trying to say that in a matter of months going from driving extremely well in the Renault in 2020 he lost his mojo as soon as he got to McLaren? I don't buy it. Its not possible in a matter of months to drop off that severely in form like that. A much more logical explanation is difficulties adapting to the McLaren car philosophy. It will be interesting to see if he does get another chance in Alpine or the likes how is form is. That will give us a much clearer picture of any potential decline in ability which I don't believe is happening, certainly not at 33.

Agreed on all points, but good to note Ocon had been out of F1 for a full year, while Daniel drove for Renault and was very much involved in the 2020 car development. Ocon was very rusty, but showed his potential by out qualifying Daniel in the wet, which I think was the second race of the season. As the season progressed, Ocon got closer, which was expected. Going back to Alpine, he'll face an Ocon who'd be in his 4th consecutive season with the team and had Fernando as a team mate for the last 2. It may not be much easier for Daniel.

[Mansell89]

Source is apparently ESPN:

Surely the best option on the grid now for him. This sounds promising from Alpine.

Szafnauer also said Alpine weren’t done coming fourth.

“We have an internal program called Mountain Climber, and that’s to hire an additional 75 people in strategic areas that will help improve the capabilities of this team,” he said.

“And along with the 75 people, there’s also tools that we are improving now, some simulation tools, a new simulator, expanded capacity in manufacturing, some upgrades to our wind tunnel, all with the focus on being able to win in 100 races.

“So those things are still happening here. And they’re happening fast. We’re already at a level of 850 people here.

“So I am confident that we can outdo the team that Fernando is going to, in the time period that he will be there.”

also they would remember Ricciardo's form in 2020 and how much it brought to Alpine at the time

Ricciardo scored 119 points in Renault in 2020, the best by a driver since the manufacturer’s return to the sport in 2016.

“So I am confident that we can outdo the team that Fernando is going to, in the time period that he will be there.”

Honestly, Ottmar in one sentence talks about getting into a race winning position, and then the next obsesses about beating his old team. Just drop the ego for goodness sake and work hard at putting all the necessary steps in place to maximise the Alpine project.

It sounds to me like they have the infrastructure to be a major player. Whether they have the top talent to make use of it I’ve no idea.

Could be interesting times ahead when you have Alpine, McLaren and Aston Martin all with properly updated sim tools.

[aran.vtec]

In 2017 Zak had promised to start fighting for regular podiums and the odd win when that failed did everyone start saying that Zak needs to go?

When Lewis couldn't come to terms with the new Merc and couldn't make q3 but Russel was top 5 no one asked for Lewis to go but as soon as the car came good he turned it all around.

I defiantly agree Dan needs to go to another team something isn't right but I just hope for Mclarens sake it isn't a Max/RB situation where no matter who they put in the 2nd car it doesn't work.

Mclaren seems to be a team of blame culture its never them always something or someone else

[Ben1980]

Daniel Ricciardo is and has been a very good driver.

He has been disapointing for Mclaren and probably hasn't done enough to keep his seat. It doesn't mean he is a bad driver. Just ge couldn't adapt to the car. It happens.

[bauc]

In 2017 Zak had promised to start fighting for regular podiums and the odd win when that failed did everyone start saying that Zak needs to go?

When Lewis couldn't come to terms with the new Merc and couldn't make q3 but Russel was top 5 no one asked for Lewis to go but as soon as the car came good he turned it all around.

I defiantly agree Dan needs to go to another team something isn't right but I just hope for Mclarens sake it isn't a Max/RB situation where no matter who they put in the 2nd car it doesn't work.

Mclaren seems to be a team of blame culture its never them always something or someone else

One of the worst post I've seen on this forum in a while.... LOL

Mclaren publicly acknowledged once the covid crisis hit that they do not have the finances to continue with the mega projects required to bring the team back to the front (new windtunnel, new machinery in the factory, beter CFD equipment ect) and those were postponed by 18 months or so, defacto killing the initial 5 year plan to be competitive on regular basis by 2022. They say, almost every race that they know their car is not good enough for their drivers, both Zak and Andreas keep saying that they still do not have all the needed tools to give the drivers a proper race winning car, and they are now hopeful this will be the case by some point next year. I haven't seen a blame game in Mclaren since Alonso message to HONDA about GP2 engine so your comment could not be any further from the truth. There has been 0 comments from Mclaren side about Danny's performance - READ ZERO - only one slightly fabricated article in U.S media outlet, which originated from a honest assesment by Zak on Danny's performance.

As for Danny, I love that guy, but for 2 seasons he is slower than Lando with few honorable exections in 2 extremly different cars due to the new rules this year. So the fact is that Danny has been given more than a fair chance to prove his worth to which he failed to do and now he is given a ton of time so he can find another team.

[JordanMugen]

Whatever! The mob here that write Daniel off because he made the mistake of joining a team who’s car has “unique” handling characteristics that don’t inspire confidence really pi$$ me off!

By the mob do you mean Zak Brown and Andreas Seidl?

McLaren's engineers have put plenty of effort into coaching Daniel on how to drive the car correctly (brake in a straight line, don't carry the brake to the apex):

James Key:

Where differences come in are things like engine braking and how that works, how to tune it accordingly, how the chassis works, how the aerodynamics works and supports the car in certain conditions. Is it strong in a straight line, which is what we’ve always been, or a little bit weaker if you’re trying to carry the brakes into a corner, or [in] certain types of corner where you have different kind of braking conditions?

Daniel Ricciardo:

I’m trying to programme myself to basically learn how to drive it faster. So I’m back at school.

https://www.grandprix247.com/2021/07/09 ... os-brakes/

By all means Ricciardo might do a lot better elsewhere, but IMO it seems that Ricciardo does not have high-level technical understanding -- he seems more to just get in the car and drive it, with little adaptability despite the engineer's suggestions on how to optimise the car's performance envelope.

The engineers have coached Ricciardo on how to optimise the car, then he comes back with this comment:

Daniel Ricciardo:

I felt like I had confidence. It was just not translating into lap time. I’ll be like ‘it’s probably a decent lap’ and it was like P12 or P15 or even at one stage P17. ... The second sector was my weakest one and that’s kind of turn five, six all the low-speed, really. So it’s a bit surprising why I’m kind of losing so much there.

https://www.racefans.net/2021/05/22/rac ... p-22-05-4/

It's inevitable that the engineers are going to get frustrated with a driver that says, "it felt fast, I don't know why I'm slow compared to the other driver".

"We told you what to do, but you can't seem to do it, we give up." lol

[djos]

Whatever! The mob here that write Daniel off because he made the mistake of joining a team who’s car has “unique” handling characteristics that don’t inspire confidence really pi$$ me off!

By the mob do you mean Zak Brown and Andreas Seidl?

McLaren's engineers have put plenty of effort into coaching Daniel on how to drive the car correctly (brake in a straight line, don't carry the brake to the apex):

James Key:

Where differences come in are things like engine braking and how that works, how to tune it accordingly, how the chassis works, how the aerodynamics works and supports the car in certain conditions. Is it strong in a straight line, which is what we’ve always been, or a little bit weaker if you’re trying to carry the brakes into a corner, or [in] certain types of corner where you have different kind of braking conditions?

Daniel Ricciardo:

I’m trying to programme myself to basically learn how to drive it faster. So I’m back at school.

https://www.grandprix247.com/2021/07/09 ... os-brakes/

By all means Ricciardo might do a lot better elsewhere, but IMO it seems that Ricciardo does not have high-level technical understanding -- he seems more to just get in the car and drive it, with little adaptability despite the engineer's suggestions on how to optimise the car's performance envelope.

No, I mean the mob calling for blood and ignoring when his results are impacted by mechanical issues. I agree he needs to improve, but some folk here have had the pitch fields out from race 1.

Most top drivers rely very heavily on the feel of the car to determine how far they can push the grip levels etc. Max is a good example and it’s one reason he’s usually so incredible in the wet.

Lando has said himself that he can drive to the data even when the feedback from the car suggests the opposite. Is impressive and he’s definitely a top talent.

Daniel is clearly a from the confidence generation that needs the car feedback to be in tune with the data so he can use his natural driving skills to get the maximum out of the car.

[billamend]

Daniel is clearly a from the confidence generation that needs the car feedback to be in tune with the data so he can use his natural driving skills to get the maximum out of the car.

Or... Daniel does not understand why cars are fast, he can't read data and adapt to the variables, and he goes all by feel. He even calls others nerds because they want to understand things. That means he is an outdated driver, and no longer has a place in modern F1.

[djos]

Daniel is clearly a from the confidence generation that needs the car feedback to be in tune with the data so he can use his natural driving skills to get the maximum out of the car.

Or... Daniel does not understand why cars are fast, he can't read data and adapt to the variables, and he goes all by feel. He even calls others nerds because they want to understand things. That means he is an outdated driver, and no longer has a place in modern F1.

Norris himself has said the car is difficult to drive and not intuitive. When you are driving flat out, on the edge of adhesion, it can’t be easy to ignore things you’ve learnt in 10 years of driving an f1 car.

[Ben1980]

Has any current driver said the new cars are easy to drive?