2018 McLaren F1 Team - Renault

[BJHF1]

That's not really surprising. It's an area where they all are trying to work the air incredibly hard. Also doesn't help having the dynamic element of the front tire wake to deal with.

[godlameroso]

The bargeboards condition all the airflow that reaches the rear of the car, in precisely where they're measuring. Probably testing the car in yaw.

[Zynerji]

So where would Vandoorne be going?

Haas?

I'm curious myself if Haas drop Grossjean. I would, but I'm not so certain it will happen.

Grosjean has never impressed me. I can't think of a single race where I was like "WOW", like I was with Alo, Vet, Ham, Ric, Ves, Gas, and LeC, Oco..

[marmer]

Haas?

I'm curious myself if Haas drop Grossjean. I would, but I'm not so certain it will happen.

Grosjean has never impressed me. I can't think of a single race where I was like "WOW", like I was with Alo, Vet, Ham, Ric, Ves, Gas, and LeC, Oco..

He looked like the next best thing when walking all over Maldonado and gut but F1 moves quick your only as good as your last few races and always compared to teammates so he has gone from being a replacement for Kimi to behind Riccardo (wasn't really an option until this season so can't blame gro) lecerc, Perez, k mag ocon plus some more complicated deals like Alonso swap for kimi which seems unlikely but more chance than gro getting the seat.

[mclaren111]

Kimi?, he will drive to collect the check and can we expect him to do anything decent if the car is not great?. Lando and Stoffel is the way to go.

I agree. Look at K-Mag - driving well this year (3rd). Vandoorne will come right.

If Norris beats Vandoorne then I'd say it's time for him to go.

[ispano6]

Vandoorne front wing failure and possibly floor damage.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/wt4daK4yINs
Watch in slow motion.

[Shader]

Wow, what a pace, this might just be our finest weekend

[Fulcrum]

Kimi to McLaren would be the equivalent of Massa to Williams.

It's the wrong move (imo) for McLaren to make. They're probably just giving themselves options for all eventualities, and Raikkonen would not be very expensive - probably $3-5 million a year - considering the level of interest he brings with him.

On the plus side, were Alonso to depart, Kimi provides good feedback for engineers, i.e. good for identifying issues. Alonso could drive a bath tub around a track quickly, but Kimi is probably better at assisting to make the bath tub drive faster.

[Shader]

Kimi to McLaren makes perfect sense. He is not very expensive, and he has lots of experience which helps car development and to be honest, I don't see anyone else wanting him. McLaren is getting miserable and if they don't turn around this crisis, I see them pulling out of the sport in a year or two.

[marmer]

Kimi to McLaren would be the equivalent of Massa to Williams.

It's the wrong move (imo) for McLaren to make. They're probably just giving themselves options for all eventualities, and Raikkonen would not be very expensive - probably $3-5 million a year - considering the level of interest he brings with him.

On the plus side, were Alonso to depart, Kimi provides good feedback for engineers, i.e. good for identifying issues. Alonso could drive a bath tub around a track quickly, but Kimi is probably better at assisting to make the bath tub drive faster.

Don't see how it's bad that kimi to McLaren is the same as Massa to Williams. Massa did a decent job at Williams bringing on two drivers bottas and stroll into becoming better drivers while getting decent results from the car

Yes Massa was past it but was there really a better choice at the time when looking back at it for them sure they could have picked a rookie and got lucky but equally they could have got another Maldonado

[Ground Effect]

Mclaren "claim" to be doing majorly setup work this morning, but if they're going to qualify 17th and 18th, or around the tail end, they might as well give Fernando the new MGU-K. Anything to help during the race.

[RonDennis]

McLaren told their drivers to no longer drive over the curbs, else the front wing would be damaged.

[Ground Effect]

First they bring the new MGU-K, then make available qualy modes... Renault's timing really raises eyebrows.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/rena ... 53131/?s=1

[Fulcrum]

Kimi to McLaren would be the equivalent of Massa to Williams.

It's the wrong move (imo) for McLaren to make. They're probably just giving themselves options for all eventualities, and Raikkonen would not be very expensive - probably $3-5 million a year - considering the level of interest he brings with him.

On the plus side, were Alonso to depart, Kimi provides good feedback for engineers, i.e. good for identifying issues. Alonso could drive a bath tub around a track quickly, but Kimi is probably better at assisting to make the bath tub drive faster.

Don't see how it's bad that kimi to McLaren is the same as Massa to Williams. Massa did a decent job at Williams bringing on two drivers bottas and stroll into becoming better drivers while getting decent results from the car

Yes Massa was past it but was there really a better choice at the time when looking back at it for them sure they could have picked a rookie and got lucky but equally they could have got another Maldonado

Its not "bad" in an objective sense, but it is "bad" in an ideological sense.

You've actually stated the problem in your last sentence - do they have a better option? If Kimi is McLaren's best option, that says a lot about their state of affairs, especially considering the likes of Ricciardo and Bottas are both available. In years gone by, if the seat were available, and money on the table, Ricciardo would have signed already.

The reality is Ricciardo will only move to McLaren for a huge paycheck, far more than what McLaren can afford (imo). This situation has only materialised (again, imo) because Alonso is going to have to take a big paycut next year should he elect to stay. The talk of Alonso looking elsewhere, Indycar, etc... are the result of that reality - in addition to the continuing monotony of poor results.

So this is really more of a Moneyball situation - how to get the best you can afford by selecting drivers that are out of favour. It's not about getting the best of the best anymore.

[adrianjordan]

Anyone else hear Andrew (Benson?) on BBC 5Live coverage of first practice? He really has it in for McLaren..!!