2023 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[FittingMechanics]

And I also heard the same implied by a McLaren's mechanical engineer.

To be fair, it shows that Ricciardo is a great natural talent if he was able to reach F1 and have good results.

[McL-H]

McLaren is paying the price for hiring a driver widely known for being very poor at giving technical feedback.

This talks about Ricciardo having poor technical knowledge or different work ethic to other drivers. But important to note the comments are apparently made by Ricardo Penteado, former powertrain engineer at Renault. I'm not sure if that speaks anything of Ric's feedback to the aero engineers etc.

I may have mentioned this here once or twice but I got the same impression about Ricciardo when reading between the lines when he talked with other drivers. I remember preseason videos for McLaren when Ricciardo was doing some racing/karting with Button and they talked about their history, I think it was quite clear that Button was talking about how Ricciardo was bad at giving technical feedback.

It might explain why he was unable to adapt the car to his styling over two years. If he struggles to understand the car and what he needs, it's going to be tough to make the necessary changes. This article and source seems to corroborate that theory to a degree.

And I also heard the same implied by a McLaren's mechanical engineer.

He also said that at Red Bull Verstappen wanted to know everything about the car in technical sense, but that he couldn’t really be bothered about that.

Edit:
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/verst ... 4/5038344/

[101FlyingDutchman]

I really like Danny as a person. He’s his own man that makes everyone smile but this in a nutshell has been his downfall when the car isn’t perfect under him because a development driver he isn’t: "Even the way when he's in engineering briefings and talking about some details on the car, I don't even know what they are”

[billamend]

He also said that at Red Bull Verstappen wanted to know everything about the car in technical sense, but that he couldn’t really be bothered about that.

Edit:
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/verst ... 4/5038344/

Thats another really good example. I remember Ricciardo calling Verstappen a nerd because of that. Which is, honestly, embarrassing for Ricciardo.

[101FlyingDutchman]

Not long to go now. I sincerely hope we haven’t gone massively backwards and this season sees us really working towards ‘24 with strides to close the gap to the front

[Emag]

Not long to go now. I sincerely hope we haven’t gone massively backwards and this season sees us really working towards ‘24 with strides to close the gap to the front

Don't be quick to judge their form. Wait until Baku and maybe a couple of races afterwards to get a clearer picture.

If they say the car on track right now is an abandoned concept, and a new one is coming with substantial expected gains, then I guess it would be unfair to judge them too harshly.

However, if the package they are putting their hopes on doesn't deliver, then that's when things get icky.

[101FlyingDutchman]

Not long to go now. I sincerely hope we haven’t gone massively backwards and this season sees us really working towards ‘24 with strides to close the gap to the front

Don't be quick to judge their form. Wait until Baku and maybe a couple of races afterwards to get a clearer picture.

If they say the car on track right now is an abandoned concept, and a new one is coming with substantial expected gains, then I guess it would be unfair to judge them too harshly.

However, if the package they are putting their hopes on doesn't deliver, then that's when things get icky.

Oh totally agree. These next 6 months will be pivotal in terms of where the team is going to go in the next few years I feel. Sense of coming to a junction/cross roads of sorts

[organic]

Haven't read it as it's rather long but here's:

https://www.mclaren.com/racing/team/a-l ... 9t6xZd9Imk

A Letter From Zak Brown

[AR3-GP]

Haven't read it as it's rather long but here's:

https://www.mclaren.com/racing/team/a-l ... 9t6xZd9Imk

A Letter From Zak Brown

FYI for anyone who had a brief scare.....Zak is not dying, retiring, or anything else untoward...

[jato]

Its laughable the amount of posters that blame Ricciardo for the teams ability to build a decent car. Seriously, you make it look like he is the only driver that is giving feedback - the same feedback that Norris has said that both he and Ricciardo give in terms of the cars behaviour in the debriefs. Why on earth would a driver give technical feedback about the car when an engineers and designers should be the one getting solutions to what the drivers are both feeling??

The only technical feedback would be in regards to car setup where I could see Ricciardo having a deficiency to his peers but otherwise I do not see how it has a massive effect on car design ffs. Did the years of Alonso having great technical feedback put McLaren at the front in the Honda years?

Many people make it out as if drivers are the ones that influence the outcome of how good a car is the seasons after is rubbish imo.

The same characteristics of the McLaren have been inherent for how many years now? Ricciardo knows what a top car should feel like and yet McLaren don't listen? Unlikely. If anything it's a compliment that all these people think that Ricciardo isn't great at technical feedback but has the career he has which is a ton better than a lot of drivers.

[BrunoH]

That's what we get when we would rather have a clown show with the drivers than 1 fast and 1 great development driver.

I remember Jenson button telling that the BEST development Driver he has ever known was Rubens Barrichelo, a key part of Ferrari's dominance with Michael Schumacher!
Mclaren seems more interested in Instagram and having funny drivers...
Don't get me Wrong. I think Lando is a very fast driver, but as a Development driver so far I have seen nothing. Danny ric was more interested in having a clown show...
This year this is what we get! the Engineers have no real clue since the feedback is poor, so at the end of the day on that front I have to say it's not totaly their fault!

[604gtir]

maybe the issue isnt the drivers, its the technical staff stuck in their ways. they need some fresh blood and new ideas. lando has often said this car doesnt suit his driving style, he's just adapted to it. so you have norris, sainz, and ricciardo that have said the car is strange. they can't all be wrong can they?

[mclaren111]

The Indycar livery looks better than F1...

[BrunoH]

i guess all of them were just too new and Dani Ric clearly not a good feedback driver...norris never had a drive in another f1 car other than mclaren, sainz was not there to have all the impact... dani ric is what it is... so yeah they needed at least an experienced driver. i mean i dont belive we can put all the blame on the team...

[Ben1980]

What are we blaming them all for?

Because they can't compete with Red Bull, Ferrari or Merc? For years Ferrari have barely managed to compete with Red Bull and Merc.

Mclaren have had very well documented money problems. And not long ago were so bad that getting out on Q1 was impressive.

OK, last years car wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. And still more often than not it was the fastest Qualifying car away from the big 3.

And this year, we'll we don't know how it will pain out.

This blame game nonsense is just that. Nonsense.