2018 McLaren F1 Team - Renault

[charliesmithhd]

Come on guys, Stoffel is the next coming of Senna you know.

Dude!!!! Literally spat out my tea....

Not sure what happened to Stoffel tbh. He had a great start in Bahrain 2016, then somehow (last season or this season) his form has dropped right off

[Raleigh]

Come on guys, Stoffel is the next coming of Senna you know.

Dude!!!! Literally spat out my tea....

Not sure what happened to Stoffel tbh. He had a great start in Bahrain 2016, then somehow (last season or this season) his form has dropped right off

Happens to Fernando's teammates.

Prevailing theories include,
- Fernando accidentally leads development in weird directions only he can drive.
- Fernando deliberately leads development in weird directions only he can drive.
- Fernando is really good at driving around handling problems.
- Fernando is just that much better than his teammates.

Honestly would dismiss these ideas, but Jenson who was already set up at McLaren when Alonso arrived more or less held his own, meanwhile Kimi and Felipe both joined Ferrari at points where Alonso was lead driver for development and got destroyed like Vandoorne is being beaten now.

[makecry]

Dude!!!! Literally spat out my tea....

Not sure what happened to Stoffel tbh. He had a great start in Bahrain 2016, then somehow (last season or this season) his form has dropped right off

Happens to Fernando's teammates.

Prevailing theories include,
- Fernando accidentally leads development in weird directions only he can drive.
- Fernando deliberately leads development in weird directions only he can drive.
- Fernando is really good at driving around handling problems.
- Fernando is just that much better than his teammates.

Honestly would dismiss these ideas, but Jenson who was already set up at McLaren when Alonso arrived more or less held his own, meanwhile Kimi and Felipe both joined Ferrari at points where Alonso was lead driver for development and got destroyed like Vandoorne is being beaten now.

Or maybe Jenson was just a much better driver than Felipe,Kimi and Stoffel.

[Jolle]

Dude!!!! Literally spat out my tea....

Not sure what happened to Stoffel tbh. He had a great start in Bahrain 2016, then somehow (last season or this season) his form has dropped right off

Happens to Fernando's teammates.

Prevailing theories include,
- Fernando accidentally leads development in weird directions only he can drive.
- Fernando deliberately leads development in weird directions only he can drive.
- Fernando is really good at driving around handling problems.
- Fernando is just that much better than his teammates.

Honestly would dismiss these ideas, but Jenson who was already set up at McLaren when Alonso arrived more or less held his own, meanwhile Kimi and Felipe both joined Ferrari at points where Alonso was lead driver for development and got destroyed like Vandoorne is being beaten now.

(racing) drivers have very little input in the whole development of the car of even the setup, just in minor details on Friday. Most of the car comes from engineers and simulations and the final (race) setup is a combination form data from the past, from the engineers and work in the sim.

WIth Alonso there are two main things in play. He's just a bloody quick driver and he demands that a whole team works for him. At Renault with Briatore it was clear policy, at McLaren the first stint, lacking this dedication, was (one of the) cause(s) for friction, at Ferrari there was just one driver, Alonso and the second time at McLaren the car just wasn't there and Button was settled. When he was replaced with Stoffel it was the real Alonso show again.

[Raleigh]

Not sure what happened to Stoffel tbh. He had a great start in Bahrain 2016, then somehow (last season or this season) his form has dropped right off

Happens to Fernando's teammates.

Prevailing theories include,
- Fernando accidentally leads development in weird directions only he can drive.
- Fernando deliberately leads development in weird directions only he can drive.
- Fernando is really good at driving around handling problems.
- Fernando is just that much better than his teammates.

Honestly would dismiss these ideas, but Jenson who was already set up at McLaren when Alonso arrived more or less held his own, meanwhile Kimi and Felipe both joined Ferrari at points where Alonso was lead driver for development and got destroyed like Vandoorne is being beaten now.

(racing) drivers have very little input in the whole development of the car of even the setup, just in minor details on Friday. Most of the car comes from engineers and simulations and the final (race) setup is a combination form data from the past, from the engineers and work in the sim.

WIth Alonso there are two main things in play. He's just a bloody quick driver and he demands that a whole team works for him. At Renault with Briatore it was clear policy, at McLaren the first stint, lacking this dedication, was (one of the) cause(s) for friction, at Ferrari there was just one driver, Alonso and the second time at McLaren the car just wasn't there and Button was settled. When he was replaced with Stoffel it was the real Alonso show again.

Would agree with that, it is the nature of multiple champions to mould the whole team around themselves and short of Schumacher I can't think of a driver who does that more than Alonso.

IMO Stoffel never really stood a chance and Norris for example would not be doing any better right now. Even the really quick newcomers with proven speed like Ocon or Leclerc would have a huge uphill battle to get on equal terms.

[Jolle]

Happens to Fernando's teammates.

Prevailing theories include,
- Fernando accidentally leads development in weird directions only he can drive.
- Fernando deliberately leads development in weird directions only he can drive.
- Fernando is really good at driving around handling problems.
- Fernando is just that much better than his teammates.

Honestly would dismiss these ideas, but Jenson who was already set up at McLaren when Alonso arrived more or less held his own, meanwhile Kimi and Felipe both joined Ferrari at points where Alonso was lead driver for development and got destroyed like Vandoorne is being beaten now.

(racing) drivers have very little input in the whole development of the car of even the setup, just in minor details on Friday. Most of the car comes from engineers and simulations and the final (race) setup is a combination form data from the past, from the engineers and work in the sim.

WIth Alonso there are two main things in play. He's just a bloody quick driver and he demands that a whole team works for him. At Renault with Briatore it was clear policy, at McLaren the first stint, lacking this dedication, was (one of the) cause(s) for friction, at Ferrari there was just one driver, Alonso and the second time at McLaren the car just wasn't there and Button was settled. When he was replaced with Stoffel it was the real Alonso show again.

Would agree with that, it is the nature of multiple champions to mould the whole team around themselves and short of Schumacher I can't think of a driver who does that more than Alonso.

IMO Stoffel never really stood a chance and Norris for example would not be doing any better right now. Even the really quick newcomers with proven speed like Ocon or Leclerc would have a huge uphill battle to get on equal terms.

well... not just Schumacher and Alonso, can't think of another top driver who, when given the chance, didn't aligned the whole team in their favour. Or, maybe even more so, The team manager, build his team around his big star.

[mclaren111]

Come on guys, Stoffel is the next coming of Senna you know.

Joke of year contender !!

[Big Tea]

Come on guys, Stoffel is the next coming of Senna you know.

Joke of year contender !!

I don't know that it was intended as a joke. We hear it so often about so many new drivers it has probably been said about him. (still had a chuckle though)

[M840TR]

Come on guys, Stoffel is the next coming of Senna you know.

Joke of year contender !!

I don't know that it was intended as a joke. We hear it so often about so many new drivers it has probably been said about him. (still had a chuckle though)

A nice reminder of how rare are drivers of Alonso's caliber to come by and what a great loss his retirement is not only to the team but to F1.

[Ground Effect]

Come on guys, Stoffel is the next coming of Senna you know.

Dude!!!! Literally spat out my tea....

Not sure what happened to Stoffel tbh. He had a great start in Bahrain 2016, then somehow (last season or this season) his form has dropped right off

For lack of a clear explanation, I'd suggest that maybe the 2017 rules revamp just didn't suit Stoffel's driving style.

[diffuser]

Dude!!!! Literally spat out my tea....

Not sure what happened to Stoffel tbh. He had a great start in Bahrain 2016, then somehow (last season or this season) his form has dropped right off

For lack of a clear explanation, I'd suggest that maybe the 2017 rules revamp just didn't suit Stoffel's driving style.

If you we're building a team and could pick any 2 drivers from the 2018 driver lineup, which driver out there would be the last driver you'd choose ?

My Guess is a very high % of people would choose Stoffel last.

[Jolle]

Not sure what happened to Stoffel tbh. He had a great start in Bahrain 2016, then somehow (last season or this season) his form has dropped right off

For lack of a clear explanation, I'd suggest that maybe the 2017 rules revamp just didn't suit Stoffel's driving style.

If you we're building a team and could pick any 2 drivers from the 2018 driver lineup, which driver out there would be the last driver you'd choose ?

My Guess is a very high % of people would choose Stoffel last.

ERI, SIR, STR, HAR, GRO and SAI would be quite high on that list too....

[Big Tea]

For lack of a clear explanation, I'd suggest that maybe the 2017 rules revamp just didn't suit Stoffel's driving style.

If you we're building a team and could pick any 2 drivers from the 2018 driver lineup, which driver out there would be the last driver you'd choose ?

My Guess is a very high % of people would choose Stoffel last.

ERI, SIR, STR, HAR, GRO and SAI would be quite high on that list too....

I think most people realise that Stoff has not had a fair crack of the whip though.
I wonder where he will go? is there an opening in Indy with Mclaren?

[Jolle]

If you we're building a team and could pick any 2 drivers from the 2018 driver lineup, which driver out there would be the last driver you'd choose ?

My Guess is a very high % of people would choose Stoffel last.

ERI, SIR, STR, HAR, GRO and SAI would be quite high on that list too....

I think most people realise that Stoff has not had a fair crack of the whip though.
I wonder where he will go? is there an opening in Indy with Mclaren?

Indy would be a paint job only and a way to keep ALO connected to the brand while they haven't got a big name in F1. VAN is most likely turn up in FE or something, earning some cash with those hard tires.

[diffuser]

ERI, SIR, STR, HAR, GRO and SAI would be quite high on that list too....

I think most people realise that Stoff has not had a fair crack of the whip though.
I wonder where he will go? is there an opening in Indy with Mclaren?

Indy would be a paint job only and a way to keep ALO connected to the brand while they haven't got a big name in F1. VAN is most likely turn up in FE or something, earning some cash with those hard tires.

RBR wanted Norris for STR but prefer Kvyat over Stoffel. Think that speaks volumes....