2024 Mclaren Formula 1 Team

[FittingMechanics]

Come on! His weekend imploded in Q1, the decision to try mediums put him on the edge and after that he blew it on his own with a ridiculously overaggressive lap on the softs that ended on the kerb. The medium - hard strategy was rubbish, and went against common wisdom. I think he drove an OK race but far from his normal standard. When you consider he looked really great throughout the three practice sessions and headed FP3 (unusual for him) his exit was hard to believe. To try to spin some conspiracy theory goes against all common sense, AND the evident character of the lad. There was far too much over-egging of the team orders by media desperate for Lando to win the WDC from too early in the season - some are still at it but now it's defensible. Oscar is done and the job is to win the WCC if at all possible, the WDC would be a surprise bonus. I'll give my reason for now believing it's just become more realistic - elsewhere.

Both drivers tried the mediums in Q1 (and Ferrari) but it didn't work for anyone. It may be what put Piastri off, everything is different on other tyres.

I didn't usually like when they went conservative with their tire usage in Q1 and Q2 (using two sets for each) but here it meant Piastri was out.

[CjC]

There was so much talk last week about how Max exploits the rules to their limits; Max himself was blabbing on about it. I can't help thinking that Lando actually outsmarted Max yesteday

I also thought Lando stepped it up in Mexico. My worry? What is Max’ next step??

[BMMR61]

McLaren's protest, or whatever legalese they called that shambles, turned out to be very useful. It rallied drivers sentiments on the issue of the overtaking rules and hands down they shouted that they'd had enough. The continuum of that and the slight backdown by the FIA after the protest was rejected was encouragement for the Mexico GP stewards to take a stronger line. That and the fact that there were different persons on the steward panel and I won't name names that may be significant.

This weekend has been extremely bad news for Red Bull. On top of the clear line in the sand about divebombing and other Max approaches to driving has now got him on the back foot.

The RB20 still has serious deficiencies that haven't been fixed by the new floor, they are floundering to find the sweet spot. TBH they haven't had the car in the sweet spot for a whole weekend for a long time. With 4 GPs and 2 Sprints, 47 points is still a big hill to climb but the RB20 is looking less convincing than at almost any stage of 2024. Worse than Hungary, much worse than Monaco. It's window is now as narrow as Mercedes. McLaren's MCL38 is still a competitive car and I suspect the new floor and FW might just be able to be tuned to give that little edge to beat Ferrari.

[FittingMechanics]

Russell said that 19 of 20 drivers are in agreement about the changes to the overtaking rules. I wonder who the holdout is? (rhetorical question)

On the positive, if Max does take an engine penalty (+5 at least) in Brazil then hopefully he wouldn't be around Norris at race start in the Grand Prix. In the sprint it may be different. Getting a big result in Brazil would do wonders for the team, we need 1-2 to solidify WCC lead and put additional pressure on Verstappen. If he starts to lose big chunks of points his super defensive racing will need to turn into super aggressive attacking racing which could lead to DNFs, especially if Red Bull pace from Mexico remains similar in following races.

Just pile on the pressure!

[Emag]

Russell said that 19 of 20 drivers are in agreement about the changes to the overtaking rules. I wonder who the holdout is? (rhetorical question)

On the positive, if Max does take an engine penalty (+5 at least) in Brazil then hopefully he wouldn't be around Norris at race start in the Grand Prix. In the sprint it may be different. Getting a big result in Brazil would do wonders for the team, we need 1-2 to solidify WCC lead and put additional pressure on Verstappen. If he starts to lose big chunks of points his super defensive racing will need to turn into super aggressive attacking racing which could lead to DNFs, especially if Red Bull pace from Mexico remains similar in following races.

Just pile on the pressure!

Max may not be around to mess with Lando at the start but a +5 is not huge enough to the point where it’s guaranteed Lando pulls a full pitstop on him on the first stint. Then they can just let Max stay out a bit longer and fu*k Lando’s race once he is out of the pits to make him lose another one (assuming they’re going to be in the fight again).

[Watto]

McLaren's protest, or whatever legalese they called that shambles, turned out to be very useful. It rallied drivers sentiments on the issue of the overtaking rules and hands down they shouted that they'd had enough. The continuum of that and the slight backdown by the FIA after the protest was rejected was encouragement for the Mexico GP stewards to take a stronger line. That and the fact that there were different persons on the steward panel and I won't name names that may be significant.

This weekend has been extremely bad news for Red Bull. On top of the clear line in the sand about divebombing and other Max approaches to driving has now got him on the back foot.

The RB20 still has serious deficiencies that haven't been fixed by the new floor, they are floundering to find the sweet spot. TBH they haven't had the car in the sweet spot for a whole weekend for a long time. With 4 GPs and 2 Sprints, 47 points is still a big hill to climb but the RB20 is looking less convincing than at almost any stage of 2024. Worse than Hungary, much worse than Monaco. It's window is now as narrow as Mercedes. McLaren's MCL38 is still a competitive car and I suspect the new floor and FW might just be able to be tuned to give that little edge to beat Ferrari.

Those are the games of F1, not sure I particularly like them but perception in F1.

Brown talking about RBR bib trick I think is purely a distraction to put pressure on RBR, -albeit I do agree Horner was very careful with his play on words it can't be changed once the car is assembled leaves out how much the car can be dissembled in parc ferme.

Horner talking about the mini DRS clamdown on McLaren, McLaren denying it but the FIA saying it happened. RBR overstating its advantage .

I don't really like that side of F1 but accept too its important these days for top teams. I think Brown in particular has worked this well for McLaren.

[Watto]

Russell said that 19 of 20 drivers are in agreement about the changes to the overtaking rules. I wonder who the holdout is? (rhetorical question)

On the positive, if Max does take an engine penalty (+5 at least) in Brazil then hopefully he wouldn't be around Norris at race start in the Grand Prix. In the sprint it may be different. Getting a big result in Brazil would do wonders for the team, we need 1-2 to solidify WCC lead and put additional pressure on Verstappen. If he starts to lose big chunks of points his super defensive racing will need to turn into super aggressive attacking racing which could lead to DNFs, especially if Red Bull pace from Mexico remains similar in following races.

Just pile on the pressure!

I question that a little tbh - Russels numbers - I do think most drivers would be in favor of changes. But I wonder if team political games Perez, and probably Lawson would have agreed with it given he is agressive too. I sense a little hes trying to hang Max out to dry a little too.

[PapayaFan481]

Come on! His weekend imploded in Q1, the decision to try mediums put him on the edge and after that he blew it on his own with a ridiculously overaggressive lap on the softs that ended on the kerb. The medium - hard strategy was rubbish, and went against common wisdom. I think he drove an OK race but far from his normal standard. When you consider he looked really great throughout the three practice sessions and headed FP3 (unusual for him) his exit was hard to believe. To try to spin some conspiracy theory goes against all common sense, AND the evident character of the lad. There was far too much over-egging of the team orders by media desperate for Lando to win the WDC from too early in the season - some are still at it but now it's defensible. Oscar is done and the job is to win the WCC if at all possible, the WDC would be a surprise bonus. I'll give my reason for now believing it's just become more realistic - elsewhere.

Both drivers tried the mediums in Q1 (and Ferrari) but it didn't work for anyone. It may be what put Piastri off, everything is different on other tyres.

I didn't usually like when they went conservative with their tire usage in Q1 and Q2 (using two sets for each) but here it meant Piastri was out.

Agreed.

What really confuses me is why they didn't bring him in and do a race style pitstop to out him on a new set of Soft tyres, rather than leave him trying to do a lap good enough on 3 lap old tyres. He clearly had enough fuel, so just needed tyres swapping, so they had time to do it.

[Seerix]

Come on! His weekend imploded in Q1, the decision to try mediums put him on the edge and after that he blew it on his own with a ridiculously overaggressive lap on the softs that ended on the kerb. The medium - hard strategy was rubbish, and went against common wisdom. I think he drove an OK race but far from his normal standard. When you consider he looked really great throughout the three practice sessions and headed FP3 (unusual for him) his exit was hard to believe. To try to spin some conspiracy theory goes against all common sense, AND the evident character of the lad. There was far too much over-egging of the team orders by media desperate for Lando to win the WDC from too early in the season - some are still at it but now it's defensible. Oscar is done and the job is to win the WCC if at all possible, the WDC would be a surprise bonus. I'll give my reason for now believing it's just become more realistic - elsewhere.

Both drivers tried the mediums in Q1 (and Ferrari) but it didn't work for anyone. It may be what put Piastri off, everything is different on other tyres.

I didn't usually like when they went conservative with their tire usage in Q1 and Q2 (using two sets for each) but here it meant Piastri was out.

Agreed.

What really confuses me is why they didn't bring him in and do a race style pitstop to out him on a new set of Soft tyres, rather than leave him trying to do a lap good enough on 3 lap old tyres. He clearly had enough fuel, so just needed tyres swapping, so they had time to do it.

Because they did not expect him to be that slow. SAI did 17.0 on used softs in Q2. Osc did 17.6

[LionsHeart]

Well, he also went off track in Austria and his lap time was cancelled. Because of this, he started lower and it cost him a potential victory. And he had the speed in qualifying. He also had the speed in Mexico. After the race, Oscar himself confirmed it. A banal mistake.

Yes, he needs to get better at stability and use tires more skillfully over the race distance. Having fresh Hards, he couldn’t get around the same Haas. Well, he got Hulk. Last year, without the fastest car, Lando seemed to finish fifth. True, the rivals there were probably weaker, plus this year they reduced the DRS zone on the main straight.

Btw I haven't seen anyone talking about how strange Piastri's strategy was. They started him on mediums but ran him to lap 39 which was time hard runners were stopping. So he did effectively a long stint heavy on fuel on medium tyres and then a short stint light on fuel on hards. Not sure if that was the smartest move they could have done. Normal way would be opposite, long stint on hards and short on mediums to the end.

I guess they probably wanted to get a lot of positions early on with the mediums against hard runners but it didn't work out at all.

And it's right that you noted this moment. I didn't understand it either. If I were the strategists, I would have called Oscar on the 29th-30th lap.

[daren_p]

Max may not be around to mess with Lando at the start but a +5 is not huge enough to the point where it’s guaranteed Lando pulls a full pitstop on him on the first stint. Then they can just let Max stay out a bit longer and fu*k Lando’s race once he is out of the pits to make him lose another one (assuming they’re going to be in the fight again).

While a possibility, with any luck, Lando might have cleaner air vs Max who might be in traffic & having to make more overtakes, on top Redbull hasn't been great on its tires, so would think Lando would be able to extend & not have to worry about that situation.

[SilviuAgo]

Excellent article!

How Max Verstappen telemetry data shows he fell into own trap twice.

https://www.planetf1.com/features/max-v ... trap-twice

[mwillems]

Well, he also went off track in Austria and his lap time was cancelled. Because of this, he started lower and it cost him a potential victory. And he had the speed in qualifying. He also had the speed in Mexico. After the race, Oscar himself confirmed it. A banal mistake.

Yes, he needs to get better at stability and use tires more skillfully over the race distance. Having fresh Hards, he couldn’t get around the same Haas. Well, he got Hulk. Last year, without the fastest car, Lando seemed to finish fifth. True, the rivals there were probably weaker, plus this year they reduced the DRS zone on the main straight.

Btw I haven't seen anyone talking about how strange Piastri's strategy was. They started him on mediums but ran him to lap 39 which was time hard runners were stopping. So he did effectively a long stint heavy on fuel on medium tyres and then a short stint light on fuel on hards. Not sure if that was the smartest move they could have done. Normal way would be opposite, long stint on hards and short on mediums to the end.

I guess they probably wanted to get a lot of positions early on with the mediums against hard runners but it didn't work out at all.

I was thinking this, but also he was fighting for clean air. Once he got it, it is possible the team wanted to keep him running uninterrupted and unhindered. He did seem to be struggling a little on the overtakes.

Aside from that I thought he had a good but not brilliant race.

[michl420]

Piastri underwhelming?

Today, it is ok. Yesterday a big mistake.

He was quite bad in first stint. He needed to be faster against those hard runners. But he made up for it by staying long and then having good pace on hards. I like how aggressive he is in his attacks. It will help him a lot in his career.

First stint good point. But I dont think he is aggressive by overtaking, mainly against slow cars. In my opinion this is a reason for the slow first stint. He "waits" sometimes 1 or 2 laps to overtake a much slower cars. Also he drive often very long first stints, so he need to be gentle on the trottle and that makes overtaking also not easyer.