2018 Red Bull vs McLaren

[Manoah2u]

I think Alonso would cry though

[DiogoBrand]

I know most of you are joking, but it's difficult for me to understand how there are delusional people to the point where they actually believe McLaren has a chassis so bad that they took a world-beater engine from Honda and made it look awful.
But if you just look at the evolution at Honda from 15 to 16, it won't be surprising to see Toro Rosso regularly in the points. Does that mean Honda will eventually surpass any of the other suppliers? With only three years left, it's unlikely to say the least.

[Jolle]

RedBull without trouble. They not only have a steady budget, fast drivers and can build on an evolution of a good performing chassis and concept, but they also have the experience of the PU, all the integration issues are ironed out after 4 years. Next to all that their team is without stress.

Then there is McLaren, no sponsor, no experience with Renault and have to design (again) a new concept halfway trough a rule-period. Management under pressure....

As for Toro Rosso. Results are less importent to them. They are set up as a development team, now they are going to develop a PU next to drivers. For that it really doesn't matter too much if they are fighting for 6th or 12th, als long as there is data and progression. Good chance they are coming with a simple and proven concept for 2018, while McLaren needs to take chances. For instance, I can see them making the Renault a water cooled intercooler (what might jinx the software)

[GoranF1]

RB might have slightly better chassis but Mclaren has Alonso....Mclaren will be infront next year.

Driver pairing is stronger in Red Bull for sure.

And Renault will outscore Mclaren. Red Bull will outscore the pair

Dont think so....Alonso is better than Riciardo, Alonso is better then Verstapen. Much better.

[sosic2121]

RB might have slightly better chassis but Mclaren has Alonso....Mclaren will be infront next year.

Driver pairing is stronger in Red Bull for sure.

And Renault will outscore Mclaren. Red Bull will outscore the pair

Dont think so....Alonso is better than Riciardo, Alonso is better then Verstapen. Much better.

Mclaren has better drivers, but they will probably lose to RB, maybe even to Renault.

[NathanOlder]

At least next year we will know what Alonso has in his locker. It will be almost 5 years between wins if he managesto win anything which im pretty sure wont happen. Next year Max and Ric will finish higher than Alonso

[GM7]

Difficult to say, the two chassis are incredible but Red Bull has much more experience with the Renault engine and I think they will have a better engine integration, but in term of aero i'm not sure Red Bull is better than Mclaren.
Mclaren, as Renault will use the official oil (BP Castrol) whereas Red Bull will still use Mobile 1.
Last but not least, Mclaren has Alonso.

[Jolle]

RB might have slightly better chassis but Mclaren has Alonso....Mclaren will be infront next year.

Driver pairing is stronger in Red Bull for sure.

And Renault will outscore Mclaren. Red Bull will outscore the pair

Dont think so....Alonso is better than Riciardo, Alonso is better then Verstapen. Much better.

If Alonso so magical as you say, why is his choice left him between McLaren (a non-works team from now on), teams like Sauber or the ex-F1-backmarker-competition of Indy? All the big teams had nice seats open..... Non of the works teams seems to want him as a driver anymore... if Mclaren will even pay him what he asks. Don’t forget, they lost their Honda money.

[techman]

Dont think so....Alonso is better than Riciardo, Alonso is better then Verstapen. Much better./quote]


i believe riccardo and max is the best driver partnership. young and quick

[the EDGE]

Even if Mclaren has an equal chassis to Red bull right now, they have to change a lot to fit a new engine in with different cooling requirements.
If Mclaren are stronger than Red bull next year it would be shocking.

A lot? Only the side pods and engine coverered area needs to be redesigned, suspension, floor, wings etc. All remain fully relevant and that’s where the performance remains. I don’t think it’s that big of an issue. Look at Brawn GP, last minute engine change didn’t hurt them much and nowadays all the mounting points are mandated which will make things even easier

[proteus]

If they score 1 point in the first race, they have won allready against the Honda.

lol. i believe alonso and mclaren want wins not 1 point. mclaren saying they have a top chassis, so if they cant score a podium in austrlia, i will be dissapointed, as they bashed honda for not scoring podiums. so i expect they can show us wha they can do with a renault.

With Honda, so far 1 point per race is a science fiction, or something like a space program was in its beginings and thats a fact. Shareholders had enough and Mclaren had enough. If Honda wont be able to make a decent engine in next season or in 2019 than they should quit the sport.

In official report FIA stated that Ferrari is little behind Mercedes, Renault is behind Ferrari and that the only one standing out is Honda. It was not the Mclaren,but FIA gave the statement. IN report Renault was .3 behind the Ferrari and Mercedes (and Ricciardo laughed at this presumption that it is too optimistic) and Honda was further behind (and notibly further behind by their stats) u can see the gap Mclaren had right from the start. I dont know what was the gap, but it imust be somewhere 0.5 sec and more. Add the lack of testing Mclaren suffered by the cramps that engine had every time they properly used it and there are no wonders that they are behind in chasis as well not to mention that chasis would give better performance with more powerfull engine.

[proteus]

Even if Mclaren has an equal chassis to Red bull right now, they have to change a lot to fit a new engine in with different cooling requirements.
If Mclaren are stronger than Red bull next year it would be shocking.

A lot? Only the side pods and engine coverered area needs to be redesigned, suspension, floor, wings etc. All remain fully relevant and that’s where the performance remains. I don’t think it’s that big of an issue. Look at Brawn GP, last minute engine change didn’t hurt them much and nowadays all the mounting points are mandated which will make things even easier

Well, Brawn had their double diffuser up their sleeaves and they didnt bother with KERS while top teams wondered in darkness for half of the season. Not to mention they got a Mercedes engine , look how Manor jumped in their performance with a Merc in the back. A team that was almost dead last in their former existance managed to become a low midfielder making Sauber to run for their money.

[FrukostScones]

RB might have slightly better chassis but Mclaren has Alonso....Mclaren will be infront next year.

Driver pairing is stronger in Red Bull for sure.

And Renault will outscore Mclaren. Red Bull will outscore the pair

Dont think so....Alonso is better than Riciardo, Alonso is better then Verstapen. Much better.

he said pairing.

Do you think ALO & VAN is better than VES & RIC ?

[Chuckjr]

I personally think the Red Bull will be faster initially, but Macca will catch up in the development race. Alonso is worth, imo, .5 to .6 tenths in any chassis, and I think that will be enough to challenge, and at times, outright beat the Red Bull. Fred is in the twilight but prime of his career, and will pull some miracles next year after years driving non competitive cars.

That said VAN is not Alonso'a match, and Red Bull, having both drivers virtually equal in talent, have a better overall talent pool to draw from which will overcome Alonso in the end, imo. I do believe it will be that close. I'm excited to see it play out.

[Jolle]

Driver pairing is stronger in Red Bull for sure.

And Renault will outscore Mclaren. Red Bull will outscore the pair

Dont think so....Alonso is better than Riciardo, Alonso is better then Verstapen. Much better.

he said pairing.

Do you think ALO & VAN is better than VES & RIC ?

For the 2015 season RedBull had the chance to sign Alonso, they choose Kvyat. Also for that season Mercedes had a open spot instead of Rosberg, when Hamilton wasn’t such a dominating factor in the team. They went for Rosberg. It’s pretty clear how F1 is rating Alonso. Damn quick but not good in your team. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s not in F1 next year. For next year, Bottas, Kimi and Sainz were favored by the works teams instead of Fernando.