2023 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[mwillems]

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10003 ... d-prix-f1/


Soooo Close...

That's why Hamilton has 7 titles, he can put perfect laps in, lap after lap.

Probably this is the next level for Lando as you hear from him and see in the telemetry the mistakes that retard his starting positions by one or two places. Probably only Max, Alonso and Hamilton have this ability, as far as I am aware. But that is why they are both three of the greatest drivers ever.

[mwillems]

I am hearing that the rules regarding tyres changed and many claim that many teams gained something from that with Mclaren getting the most and others like Red Bull and Aston Martin losing ground. Do you think that is the case or is it because of our upgrade?

I posted the article on the last page, it was an interview with Alonso.

[Swed3121]

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10003 ... d-prix-f1/


Soooo Close...

That's why Hamilton has 7 titles, he can put perfect laps in, lap after lap.

Probably this is the next level for Lando as you hear from him and see in the telemetry the mistakes that retard his starting positions by one or two places. Probably only Max, Alonso and Hamilton have this ability, as far as I am aware. But that is why they are both three of the greatest drivers ever.

Maybe this is paradoxically a trait honed by having a dominant car?
If you think of the drivers who are the most on edge during a quali lap currently, it’s likely Lando, Charles and George, all of whom have had to always do this since the car was never good enough on its own, they had to push to the absolute limit and therefore sometimes go over it with little mistakes here and there, vs if you have a dominant car that generally handles a bit better and can consistently be driven closer to the edge without it biting back, it’s easier to put in consistently amazing laps.

Even if this isn’t the case, we must still give lando and MCl some slack, this is probably lando 3rd or 4th ever fight for pole and MCl hasn’t been a serious contender like this for over 10 years, but it also reflects positively on us that we are actually fighting the dominant heavyweights of F1 on actual pace and beating some of them (insert Ferrari clown picture here)

[Tomsky]

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10003 ... d-prix-f1/


Soooo Close...

That's why Hamilton has 7 titles, he can put perfect laps in, lap after lap.

Probably this is the next level for Lando as you hear from him and see in the telemetry the mistakes that retard his starting positions by one or two places. Probably only Max, Alonso and Hamilton have this ability, as far as I am aware. But that is why they are both three of the greatest drivers ever.

Hamilton made a mistake in the 3rd sector.

[Tomsky]

[Spoutnik]

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10003 ... d-prix-f1/


Soooo Close...

That's why Hamilton has 7 titles, he can put perfect laps in, lap after lap.

Probably this is the next level for Lando as you hear from him and see in the telemetry the mistakes that retard his starting positions by one or two places. Probably only Max, Alonso and Hamilton have this ability, as far as I am aware. But that is why they are both three of the greatest drivers ever.

Alonso has never been a very good qualifier imo
Max too, he took his first pole at the Hungaroring 3 years after his first win, and we cannot really compare him to Perez but I believe he's probably the best on race pace, he's metronomic but less impressive over one lap.
Hamilton has past his prime in qualy, he was a best in the McLaren day, and still have some flash of brillance putting a lap out of nowhere like Charles in the Ferrari, but he focus more on Sunday. Bottas and now Russell challenge him in qualy for this reason despite being really far off the pace on race day.

But I think for yersteday indeed, Lando with a perfect lap could've been on the front row.

[mwillems]

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10003 ... d-prix-f1/


Soooo Close...

That's why Hamilton has 7 titles, he can put perfect laps in, lap after lap.

Probably this is the next level for Lando as you hear from him and see in the telemetry the mistakes that retard his starting positions by one or two places. Probably only Max, Alonso and Hamilton have this ability, as far as I am aware. But that is why they are both three of the greatest drivers ever.

Maybe this is paradoxically a trait honed by having a dominant car?
If you think of the drivers who are the most on edge during a quali lap currently, it’s likely Lando, Charles and George, all of whom have had to always do this since the car was never good enough on its own, they had to push to the absolute limit and therefore sometimes go over it with little mistakes here and there, vs if you have a dominant car that generally handles a bit better and can consistently be driven closer to the edge without it biting back, it’s easier to put in consistently amazing laps.

Even if this isn’t the case, we must still give lando and MCl some slack, this is probably lando 3rd or 4th ever fight for pole and MCl hasn’t been a serious contender like this for over 10 years, but it also reflects positively on us that we are actually fighting the dominant heavyweights of F1 on actual pace and beating some of them (insert Ferrari clown picture here)

It's not about slack, I'm sure Lando would want to improve and be the best driver in the world, in it is obvious from his own self-analysis that consistent perfect laps would be a target.

Re: Dominant car, the history of the driver pairings and battles show that the car itself is not enough. IMO there is a talent and a skill there and it isn't explained by the drivers not being pressured, because in Qualy where Bottas would have a good go, Hamilton was spotless even under pressure, same with Alonso. Max v Lewis also showed some fantastic consistent driving. They have all been under pressure, so it is a realistic next step for Lando I think. Max may be cruising now, but Hamilton had plenty of pressure from his team mates in Qualy at least and in some races, and Max was heavily under pressure in his first (gifted) championship.

[mwillems]

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/10003 ... d-prix-f1/


Soooo Close...

That's why Hamilton has 7 titles, he can put perfect laps in, lap after lap.

Probably this is the next level for Lando as you hear from him and see in the telemetry the mistakes that retard his starting positions by one or two places. Probably only Max, Alonso and Hamilton have this ability, as far as I am aware. But that is why they are both three of the greatest drivers ever.

Alonso has never been a very good qualifier imo
Max too, he took his first pole at the Hungaroring 3 years after his first win, and we cannot really compare him to Perez but I believe he's probably the best on race pace, he's metronomic but less impressive over one lap.
Hamilton has past his prime in qualy, he was a best in the McLaren day, and still have some flash of brillance putting a lap out of nowhere like Charles in the Ferrari, but he focus more on Sunday. Bottas and now Russell challenge him in qualy for this reason despite being really far off the pace on race day.

But I think for yersteday indeed, Lando with a perfect lap could've been on the front row.

It's not just about Qualy though, those laps one after the other in the race of precision are what keep the tyres alive longer and help them retain pace. Though I don't recall him being a bad or average qualifier, you may be right. He certainly seemed very good at Mclaren, Alpine and Aston. Consistently dragging the car much further ahead than his team mates, but this is just anecdotal and from memory, but I'm not so sure that I'm wrong...

Edit: Somebody put some stats together, in his Qualifying v Teammates he has either beaten them or destroyed them and never lost a Qualifying battle in a season including Hamilton. The overall sentiment was that the idea he was not a good qualifier is a myth, he was very good, it is just that his race ability was on another level.

But I wasn't talking about one lap pace, I was talking about wheel precision affecting lap time. Those three guys can put in extremely precise laps. Other aspects around the gearing, differential, brake balance, preferred setup etc affect the lap, not just the steering wheel.

[MTudor]

This article talks about how the tyres have helped Mclaren and hindered RB and Aston. There's definitely something in it, I'd imagine a few tenths have come to Mclaren from the tyre construction. We know the team struggle with how the tyre deformed under lateral load, and we know the construction is now sturdier, so it seems like Pirelli have helped us out in all of the corners.

Was tyre deformation related to the off throttle behaviours I wonder? The act of dropping off throttle, cruising off throttle and then applying acceleration causing the tyres to deform to a different profile that harmed the aero? This would explain some improvement of behaviour in long corners and twisty sections.

https://www.racefans.net/2023/07/22/ast ... ge-alonso/

Pirelli strengthened the tyres because the increase df of the cars and they feared that the tyres won't be able to cope with the load requirments that's my understanding.

[mwillems]

This article talks about how the tyres have helped Mclaren and hindered RB and Aston. There's definitely something in it, I'd imagine a few tenths have come to Mclaren from the tyre construction. We know the team struggle with how the tyre deformed under lateral load, and we know the construction is now sturdier, so it seems like Pirelli have helped us out in all of the corners.

Was tyre deformation related to the off throttle behaviours I wonder? The act of dropping off throttle, cruising off throttle and then applying acceleration causing the tyres to deform to a different profile that harmed the aero? This would explain some improvement of behaviour in long corners and twisty sections.

https://www.racefans.net/2023/07/22/ast ... ge-alonso/

Pirelli strengthened the tyres because the increase df of the cars and they feared that the tyres won't be able to cope with the load requirments that's my understanding.

I think that's in the public domain, it's a discussion around the effect on performance.

[FittingMechanics]

I am hearing that the rules regarding tyres changed and many claim that many teams gained something from that with Mclaren getting the most and others like Red Bull and Aston Martin losing ground. Do you think that is the case or is it because of our upgrade?

Car was P4 in Austria. That was before the tyre construction change.

[Darth-Piekus]

I see. Then it is the upgrade that made the difference and not the tyres.

[mwillems]

I see. Then it is the upgrade that made the difference and not the tyres.

Austria we were P4, Silverstone P2 AND P4 in race circumstances, P2 & P3 on merit, and much closer to Max on pace. That is the tyre improvement that is helping Mclaren and Merc in Alonso's opinion, Merc having also found time vs RB from the tyres in that time.

Whether there is truth to it you can't say, but the evidence certainly suggests it may be the case, however we need more races to see if there is a pattern since Silverstone.

[McL-H]

Contact between Max and Lewis and a McLaren 1-2 as final result. Can’t wait

[mclaren111]

Contact between Max and Lewis and a McLaren 1-2 as final result. Can’t wait