2018 McLaren F1 Team - Renault

[PhillipM]

I think after 3 years with Honda and now with Renault I have no doubts to say that "size-zero" concept means F A I L.

Go back and look at the car. Where is the size zero?
Almost every other car on the grid is slimmer than the Mclaren.

[Big Tea]

I Know they will not do it, because its not what race teams do, but Mclaren should move the focus away from looking for top times and being in the top few cars to making sure the car and team are running well and consistently. They are not going to be in the top 3 this year anyway and the step to take them from running well and not chasing podiums to being at the front end of mid field should be easy for them then.

Finish races in a professional way first, then go for points. They seem to be panicking with the little things instead of preparing for a season. The pit stops for example, could have been practiced at the factory. IT could even have been done on last years car. It takes useful time from the track time they have. They need to step back, take a breath and do what they have always done well

[PhillipM]

Pit stops are practised at the factory, they've done hundreds.
But that it's not the same thing as in the pitlane with multiple things going on around you and different pressure.

[GoranF1]

I think after 3 years with Honda and now with Renault I have no doubts to say that "size-zero" concept means F A I L.

Go back and look at the car. Where is the size zero?
Almost every other car on the grid is slimmer than the Mclaren.

What??? Only Redbull has smaller coke bottle area

[Big Tea]

Pit stops are practised at the factory, they've done hundreds.
But that it's not the same thing as in the pitlane with multiple things going on around you and different pressure.

It should be automatic by the time they get to the track. Who gets which wheel off which rack and takes it where etc does not vary from the dummy setup in the factory to the real thing, but someone either put the wheels in the wrong rack, or the rack in the wrong place. The car slipping off the jack should have been practiced so many times the slip would have happened in practice and and the plate been modified.

Its not just one or two things, it is a whole string of them, which could be excused it it was a new team but organization is the very thing Mclaren have always prided themselves in.
Each one individually is excusable and mostly trivial and is what practice is for, but Mclaren have never been like this even at their worst.

[Macklaren]

Pit stops are practised at the factory, they've done hundreds.
But that it's not the same thing as in the pitlane with multiple things going on around you and different pressure.

It should be automatic by the time they get to the track. Who gets which wheel off which rack and takes it where etc does not vary from the dummy setup in the factory to the real thing, but someone either put the wheels in the wrong rack, or the rack in the wrong place. The car slipping off the jack should have been practiced so many times the slip would have happened in practice and and the plate been modified.

Its not just one or two things, it is a whole string of them, which could be excused it it was a new team but organization is the very thing Mclaren have always prided themselves in.
Each one individually is excusable and mostly trivial and is what practice is for, but Mclaren have never been like this even at their worst.

Stuff happens. How many times have RB not had tires for live stops? Or other teams put on mismatched sets? Also Eric said that they have some new equipment this year which prob takes some getting used to. I think these guys are rusty because pit stops have not mattered for 3 years and by the European leg I expect them to be doing consistent 2+ sec stops instead of 3+ second in the last 3 years

[PhillipM]

I don't think they're rusty, I do think there's a couple of new faces in the mechanics - it might have been their first 'live' pitstop with the new guys.

[Big Tea]

Pit stops are practised at the factory, they've done hundreds.
But that it's not the same thing as in the pitlane with multiple things going on around you and different pressure.

It should be automatic by the time they get to the track. Who gets which wheel off which rack and takes it where etc does not vary from the dummy setup in the factory to the real thing, but someone either put the wheels in the wrong rack, or the rack in the wrong place. The car slipping off the jack should have been practiced so many times the slip would have happened in practice and and the plate been modified.

Its not just one or two things, it is a whole string of them, which could be excused it it was a new team but organization is the very thing Mclaren have always prided themselves in.
Each one individually is excusable and mostly trivial and is what practice is for, but Mclaren have never been like this even at their worst.

Stuff happens. How many times have RB not had tires for live stops? Or other teams put on mismatched sets? Also Eric said that they have some new equipment this year which prob takes some getting used to. I think these guys are rusty because pit stops have not mattered for 3 years and by the European leg I expect them to be doing consistent 2+ sec stops instead of 3+ second in the last 3 years

That is inexcusable "we are crap because we have had a bad engine for 3 years" makes no difference at all to the wheels jack etc which should have been practiced time after time this year.
It is not just that either, Mclaren have always been a sharp team and this is just comical, but will not affect long term, but if the organisation is not already there, they are going into the race season unprepared.


Edit, I don't mean inexcusable for you, I mean for Mclaren management

[McG]

Pit stops are practised at the factory, they've done hundreds.
But that it's not the same thing as in the pitlane with multiple things going on around you and different pressure.

It should be automatic by the time they get to the track. Who gets which wheel off which rack and takes it where etc does not vary from the dummy setup in the factory to the real thing, but someone either put the wheels in the wrong rack, or the rack in the wrong place. The car slipping off the jack should have been practiced so many times the slip would have happened in practice and and the plate been modified.

Its not just one or two things, it is a whole string of them, which could be excused it it was a new team but organization is the very thing Mclaren have always prided themselves in.
Each one individually is excusable and mostly trivial and is what practice is for, but Mclaren have never been like this even at their worst.

I'm just wondering where you are getting all this negativity from when out of all the pit stops, only 2 that we have seen have had mistakes. I guess you are adding the wheel nut and £2 bolt to your list, combining them all and trying to make out that McLaren are doomed. All the while offering advice to McLaren.

What line of work are you in again.

[Avocado]

Go back and look at the car. Where is the size zero?
Almost every other car on the grid is slimmer than the Mclaren.

What? Are you people blind or delusional?

[Big Tea]

Pit stops are practised at the factory, they've done hundreds.
But that it's not the same thing as in the pitlane with multiple things going on around you and different pressure.

I'm just wondering where you are getting all this negativity from when out of all the pit stops, only 2 that we have seen have had mistakes. I guess you are adding the wheel nut and £2 bolt to your list, combining them all and trying to make out that McLaren are doomed. All the while offering advice to McLaren.

What line of work are you in again.


It should be automatic by the time they get to the track. Who gets which wheel off which rack and takes it where etc does not vary from the dummy setup in the factory to the real thing, but someone either put the wheels in the wrong rack, or the rack in the wrong place. The car slipping off the jack should have been practiced so many times the slip would have happened in practice and and the plate been modified.

Its not just one or two things, it is a whole string of them, which could be excused it it was a new team but organization is the very thing Mclaren have always prided themselves in.
Each one individually is excusable and mostly trivial and is what practice is for, but Mclaren have never been like this even at their worst.

That it was a £2 bolt is irrelevant. It was a fail just as much as if it was a million£ component. More so infact because it could easily have ended a race for them, same with the exhaust clamp. What the fail was does not matter a fail is a fail

Negativity based on factors like this is different to negativity based on 'a feeling they are not going to be good'

[PhillipM]

What? Are you people blind or delusional?

No, we're just looking at this years cars not last years.

[wesley123]

I'm just wondering where you are getting all this negativity from when out of all the pit stops, only 2 that we have seen have had mistakes.

Just out of interest, how often have you seen a car being dropped before the tires are actually on? I can't remember a single occasion where that has happened. And it's not like they were under serious pressure; it was not a race where they required a 2 second pitstop.

I guess you are adding the wheel nut and £2 bolt to your list, combining them all and trying to make out that McLaren are doomed. All the while offering advice to McLaren.

These aren't really things that fail out of nothing. The sole failures where I can think of is when the nut wasn't properly connected.

The bigger issue is the team itself imo. Such uncommon issues mply a lack of coordination, responsibility, unclear tasks and/or unplanned, unnecessary haste.

What line of work are you in again.

What about you?

[Jolle]

Pit stops are practised at the factory, they've done hundreds.
But that it's not the same thing as in the pitlane with multiple things going on around you and different pressure.

It should be automatic by the time they get to the track. Who gets which wheel off which rack and takes it where etc does not vary from the dummy setup in the factory to the real thing, but someone either put the wheels in the wrong rack, or the rack in the wrong place. The car slipping off the jack should have been practiced so many times the slip would have happened in practice and and the plate been modified.

Its not just one or two things, it is a whole string of them, which could be excused it it was a new team but organization is the very thing Mclaren have always prided themselves in.
Each one individually is excusable and mostly trivial and is what practice is for, but Mclaren have never been like this even at their worst.

I'm just wondering where you are getting all this negativity from when out of all the pit stops, only 2 that we have seen have had mistakes. I guess you are adding the wheel nut and £2 bolt to your list, combining them all and trying to make out that McLaren are doomed. All the while offering advice to McLaren.

What line of work are you in again.

I wouldn't say McLaren is doomed, but there are big problems. The pit stops, small things going wrong are the result of something.
McLaren is run by a couple of managers who sit back with their arms crossed in a meeting telling each other that deadlines aren't met. It's run from excel sheets and powerpoints instead from passion. Almost like they are civil servants.

[Raleigh]

If you are looking at the pitstop problems Williams for example went through a similar stage of "the car is so bad there is no point even practicing pitstops" towards the end of the V8 era, that was turned around by Pat Symonds after he arrived, calmed everyone down and just got them focusing on their own jobs.

That did take a change of leadership though, at the least Boullier will have to have a change of approach.