2023 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[johnny comelately]

How long has Zak Brown's tenure got to go?

I don’t think Zac is the problem, the aero department seem to be way too timid to me and the chassis guys need to learn how to incorporate driver feedback!

That is his job, to make sure those sort of things do not happen (plus much more)

[EJ22B]

This is so disappointing. The team missed their development targets. The car has teething issues and is slow.

I don't think there's any need to blame anyone. The team simply needs to implement better process so these things don't happen again.

Didn't they only miss it because they went down a different route late in the day?

McLaren said last year they lacked the engineering personnel to develop two cars simultaneously. They said they were expecting to start the 23 season on the backfoot because of that reason.

And is it slow? In comparison to its immediate challengers?

It doesn't seem to have the lap time Aston and Alpine have shown so far.

[Darth-Piekus]

Mwillems the thing is that the 1,5 of last year has probably remained while midfield teams have probably taken a step forward. The upgrade better give more than a second in time otherwise it will be a failing year again.

[mwillems]

Mwillems the thing is that the 1,5 of last year has probably remained while midfield teams have probably taken a step forward. The upgrade better give more than a second in time otherwise it will be a failing year again.

It could be yes, but it would unusual of the team to measure our progress from the start of the season and not the end. They might simply consider that they didn't close the gap and that at the end of the season they think the car would still be 1.5s behind if they ran on the Bahrain track again.

Obviously stating a gap is erroneous on its own because it is different for each track and the cars characteristics, so the context certainly seems to be a gap at this track specifically, at least this makes more sense to me.

But I don't think they know the gap to the front right now, I highly doubt they would suggest a gap to the front after 2 days of testing. But you never know.

[Darth-Piekus]

It could be yes, but it would unusual of the team to measure our progress from the start of the season and not the end. They might simply consider that they didn't close the gap and that at the end of the season they think the car would still be 1.5s behind.

But I don't think they know the gap to the front right now, I highly doubt they would suggest a gap to the front after 2 days of testing. But you never know.

Im afraid that this is it. Ive seen plenty of winter tests for many years and im afraid that if the car was that good it would have shown it from the first day.

[mwillems]

This is so disappointing. The team missed their development targets. The car has teething issues and is slow.

I don't think there's any need to blame anyone. The team simply needs to implement better process so these things don't happen again.

Didn't they only miss it because they went down a different route late in the day?

McLaren said last year they lacked the engineering personnel to develop two cars simultaneously. They said they were expecting to start the 23 season on the backfoot because of that reason.

And is it slow? In comparison to its immediate challengers?

It doesn't seem to have the lap time Aston and Alpine have shown so far.

Bahrain was also one of our worst tracks last year and then we picked up, it is important to remember we are testing on a track we have not enjoyed or done well on in recent times.

I think this is why the team can gauge progress very well here, here they can see many flaws that they don't necessarily see at a track like Barcelona.

[mwillems]

It could be yes, but it would unusual of the team to measure our progress from the start of the season and not the end. They might simply consider that they didn't close the gap and that at the end of the season they think the car would still be 1.5s behind.

But I don't think they know the gap to the front right now, I highly doubt they would suggest a gap to the front after 2 days of testing. But you never know.

Im afraid that this is it. Ive seen plenty of winter tests for many years and im afraid that if the car was that good it would have shown it from the first day.

I'll be more interested in progress over the season. I'll dig up my post as a reply to someone else on here, but where we are at the end of the season is more important than where we are now. They are not unrelated, of course, but it the season can be a good one.

[Darth-Piekus]

Our of curiosity.If the Wind Tunnel and simulator were too much out of date why use the Toyota one instead of the Mercedes one who is the latest piece of tech?

[the EDGE]

https://the-race.com/formula-1/the-main ... -happened/

Best article yet about the current package.

Seems to me that it’s essentially last years aero package when you consider 2 to 3 months ago was essentially the 2022 Abu Dhabi GP.
There is a lot being made about this Baku update so it better deliver for everyone’s sake

It certainly does make things a little clearer, sounds like they abandoned development of the current car some time ago to work on a whole package in a new direction

That’s at least very brave of them, especially in the budget cap era, only time will tell if it pays off

[F1doc]

Bahrain was also one of our worst tracks last year and then we picked up, it is important to remember we are testing on a track we have not enjoyed or done well on in recent times.

I think this is why the team can gauge progress very well here, here they can see many flaws that they don't necessarily see at a track like Barcelona.

If this was meant to be an ambitious project, surely the aim would be to improve on where the former car had struggled on in recent times?

I think McLaren are heading a similar way to Williams in the last decade.

[mclaren111]

Autosport:

11:26 We've had an update from McLaren:

"Hi all,

"I'm sure some of you have seen the work going on in our garage.

"The team is currently conducting some temporary strengthening work on the front winglets to ensure we can complete today's running.

"It's a very minor issue that will be permanently fixed for the Grand Prix next weekend."

[McL-H]

Our real car will come in Baku is now said. That means the team is chasing the competition 2 months back, as if the other teams are not improving. They don’t sit still either. If we are in 6th, 7th or even 8th next week, you can forget about 4th in Baku and can forget about 4th this year overall. Especially if the AM is living up to expectations. You can’t play catch up in current F1. You got to be there when the season starts.

Better just speed up the delivery of the wind tunnel, finish 10th mid-season so we get full wind tunnel and CFD time, zak James Key, reel in Binotto, use remainder of 2023 as a test season and shift all focus to 2024 making full use of the new facilities. No use in playing catch up AGAIN this year so that we’re on the backfoot for next year too. I don’t care about having a car for P4 by the end of the season if it means we still lose against Daddy Stroll or Alpine and we’re on the back foot again for 2024. I know it’s too complicated as the team needs to keep owners, sponsors and fans happy, but I believe performance wise that’s the best road to success right now.

[the EDGE]

Bahrain was also one of our worst tracks last year and then we picked up, it is important to remember we are testing on a track we have not enjoyed or done well on in recent times.

I think this is why the team can gauge progress very well here, here they can see many flaws that they don't necessarily see at a track like Barcelona.

Last year certainly, before that Lando finished 4th in both ‘20 & ‘21, albeit in the previous car generation

I’m not sure what relevance any track would be at the moment, it guess it depends if any learning can be transferred to the new package

[the EDGE]

Our real car will come in Baku is now said. That means the team is chasing the competition 2 months back, as if the other teams are not improving. They don’t sit still either. If we are in 6th, 7th or even 8th next week, you can forget about 4th in Baku and can forget about 4th this year overall. Especially if the AM is living up to expectations. You can’t play catch up in current F1. You got to be there when the season starts.

Better just speed up the delivery of the wind tunnel, finish 10th mid-season so we get full wind tunnel and CFD time, zak James Key, reel in Binotto, use remainder of 2023 as a test season and shift all focus to 2024 making full use of the new facilities. No use in playing catch up AGAIN this year so that we’re on the backfoot for next year too. I don’t care about having a car for P4 by the end of the season if it means we still lose against Daddy Stroll or Alpine and we’re on the back foot again for 2024. I know it’s too complicated as the team needs to keep owners, sponsors and fans happy, but I believe performance wise that’s the best road to success right now.

Oddly McLaren have said that development of the Mcl60 will cease when the new tunnel is ready, but they must have a concept ready to be developed at that point

If they can get on the correct path with the Mcl60B, then there’s every chance of catching up by then

[djos]

How long has Zak Brown's tenure got to go?

I don’t think Zac is the problem, the aero department seem to be way too timid to me and the chassis guys need to learn how to incorporate driver feedback!

That is his job, to make sure those sort of things do not happen (plus much more)

No it isn’t, Zac’s job is to make sure McLaren have the funds to fight for a WDC/WCC and to hire the Technical Director.

It’s up to the technical director to make sure the design team is doing its job and the fabrication team is building the design to specification.