2025 McLaren F1 Team

[avantman]

Stella thinks the race pace advantage comes from the cooling system…… of the car, no mention about the tyres

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... WsXXDpSc95

The race pace advantage comes from downforce in race mode. They simply had more of it. Downforce and grip. Grip and downforce. It's very clear they are the fastest immediately from lap 1. Nothing to do with tire deg and/or wear at that stage. Tire cooling all that stuff. They were the fastest car in all the races this year from the get go.
Are they also carrying less fuel for race distance? Probably. I always had such feeling the fastest and dominant cars do that, like Mercedes in 2020 or RB in 2023.

[SilviuAgo]

<...>

Regarding Max vs Lando in T2-T3...I think for all normal people is obvious what happened there.

[Macklaren]

First of all, highly unlikely at this point.
The current record is from RB19. Both cars won all races but one, but since 2023 had more races, the win percentage is higher for RBR.

Ummm I don't think it's highly unlikely though yes it will an amazing feat
Pretty sure the McLaren still is the winningest car for average finish across the team over the season. Also not McLarens fault that seasons were longer now than before so the overall honors are shared as well

Winningest.

Oh help me god, we should get the moderators in for that alone.

that's a perfectly admissible racing technical term

[Darth-Piekus]

Very interesting. So Max should have had a penalty after all for that maneuver as it was no oversteer.

[Slahinki]

Very interesting. So Max should have had a penalty after all for that maneuver as it was no oversteer.

He either jinked on purpose or he forced another driver off track due to not being in control of his car. Either one should be a penalty.

[DDopey]

Very interesting. So Max should have had a penalty after all for that maneuver as it was no oversteer.

But but, he was in front?

[Macklaren]

Very interesting. So Max should have had a penalty after all for that maneuver as it was no oversteer.

But but, he was in front?

So if a car has its front axle slightly in front, it is allowed to veer into the car alongside and push it off the track? interesting....

[mwillems]

Stella thinks the race pace advantage comes from the cooling system…… of the car, no mention about the tyres

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... WsXXDpSc95

I took a couple of goes to interpret it in what I think an accurate manner.

He is talking about the tyres and the black art of cooling the tyres. But instead of talking about the tyre cooling solution directly, he talks about the cooling on the car itself as an example of how the team are capable of building very effective cooling solutions, with the implication that the tyre cooling is one of these clever and effective cooling solutions.

So this is him confirming that both of those cooling systems are very effective. But clearly he wants to keep it a black art and not actually mention the ducts.



Of course, it could also be misdirection



Talking of car cooling, I wonder if what they are doing in there and if it relates to this cars low top speed.

[mwillems]

Very interesting. So Max should have had a penalty after all for that maneuver as it was no oversteer.

But but, he was in front?

So if a car has its front axle slightly in front, it is allowed to veer into the car alongside and push it off the track? interesting....

These rules, like all rules are open to being abused. But I like these rules because they are specific and measurable. So far, by and large there is consistency to the stewardship, but as always it's not always black and white. But everyone can take advantage in the same way so it's fair, and no one is afraid of making overtakes either.

Whatever rule is in place will have grey areas and fans and drivers that get upset, in my opinion.

I'm not suggesting there isn't a better set of rules, just that I think this set is fine by me.

[Macklaren]

But but, he was in front?

So if a car has its front axle slightly in front, it is allowed to veer into the car alongside and push it off the track? interesting....

These rules, like all rules are open to being abused. But I like these rules because they are specific and measurable. So far, by and large there is consistency to the stewardship, but as always it's not always black and white. But everyone can take advantage in the same way so it's fair, and no one is afraid of making overtakes either.

Whatever rule is in place will have grey areas and fans and drivers that get upset, in my opinion.

I'm not suggesting there isn't a better set of rules, just that I think this set is fine by me.

Yes, I agree. This is why any set of rules -- or laws -- has judges who decide whether the defendant is adhering to the SPIRIT of the law in addition to the LETTER of the law. Too many fans use the letter to defend a spirit violation. Granted, this involves some level of subjectivity but until we get an unbiased AI driver steward, a single individual or small group of people should judge both letter and spirit

PS: I'm not a lawyer and this does not constitute legal advice

[mwillems]

I'm happy for Max to do it but that just means it's open season on him, which is why I was quite happy with Oscar bullying Max into a penalty at SA.

May he be forced off track many more times

[FittingMechanics]

These rules will make overtakes harder. Defender has a big advantage if he can defend the inside.

It may be simpler than the situation last year but it will mean less overtakes and in the end more penalties and crashes. It may end up being beneficial for a faster attacker to just overtake off track if he needs to, and then drive away in clean air.

Norris lost 8 seconds to Piastri in 5 laps behind Verstappen.

[AR3-GP]

Yes, I agree. This is why any set of rules -- or laws -- has judges who decide whether the defendant is adhering to the SPIRIT of the law in addition to the LETTER of the law. Too many fans use the letter to defend a spirit violation. Granted, this involves some level of subjectivity but until we get an unbiased AI driver steward, a single individual or small group of people should judge both letter and spirit

PS: I'm not a lawyer and this does not constitute legal advice

Does your way of thinking also extend to the technical regulations? Or does the “spirit” only work where convenient in defense of Mclaren interest?

[mwillems]

I think this started last year as a result of Max, where in my opinion it was harder than it was yesterday because then there were few repercussions for Max driving last year.

[mwillems]

So if a car has its front axle slightly in front, it is allowed to veer into the car alongside and push it off the track? interesting....

These rules, like all rules are open to being abused. But I like these rules because they are specific and measurable. So far, by and large there is consistency to the stewardship, but as always it's not always black and white. But everyone can take advantage in the same way so it's fair, and no one is afraid of making overtakes either.

Whatever rule is in place will have grey areas and fans and drivers that get upset, in my opinion.

I'm not suggesting there isn't a better set of rules, just that I think this set is fine by me.

Yes, I agree. This is why any set of rules -- or laws -- has judges who decide whether the defendant is adhering to the SPIRIT of the law in addition to the LETTER of the law. Too many fans use the letter to defend a spirit violation. Granted, this involves some level of subjectivity but until we get an unbiased AI driver steward, a single individual or small group of people should judge both letter and spirit

PS: I'm not a lawyer and this does not constitute legal advice

I'm happier with clear rules that can be tweaked, I think, like the tech regs where the spirit was dumped and tweaks are made for sporting and technical reasons. Maybe AI could do something but we don't even have all the cameras we need for track limits lol