2018 McLaren F1 Team - Renault

[M840TR]

It seems to be getting better after his departure. I mean, we'll know how it really is next year, but for now they're probably relishing not being on the receiving end of his PR disasters and weird scandals like freddogate.

[noname]

Getting rid of Eric Boullier was a great move and the most important one in the restructuring process...

Things are usually not as simple as we would like them to be. We should not forget Eric was really successful before coming to Woking.

People on position as he was, quite often are being let go not because they are really that bad, but to emphasize the change. Big, if not the biggest, part of Eric's job was to make sure deal with Honda is bringing fruits, and if the things are not going well protect McLaren's image by bashing Honda. I doubt his criticism toward their engine partner was not co-ordinated with McLaren's top dogs.

I suspect "fighting" with Honda cost Woking a lot of efforts, efforts they could put to better use - work on chassis, operations, etc. It is also quite possible some people at McLaren genuinely believed their chassis is top notch, and only thing preventing them from being at the very sharp end of the F1 is the engine.

Switch to Renault shown chassis is not that great, but continuation "we have great chassis, but engine sucks" strategy was not an option any more. I am not surprised face of this narration was removed from the spotlight - he just did not fit new times.

[diffuser]

Also, they should run the black vortex generators. Looks very aggressive.

https://media-cdn.mclaren.com/media/ima ... ries/8.jpg

what was the reason for running these in that colour? were they a new design or in a new place, and they didn't have time to paint them?

Ithink it was the last inseason test (Hungry), I forget what they were testing, I presume it was letting them see the airflow somehow.

[diffuser]

Well, at least the team is starting to function as it should. Good pitstops, good tactics and trying to make the most out of all the situations. Good score by Vandoorne and very important as well in the battle with Force India.

I think it's because this year has been a big wake-up call for everyone. Even if the previous Honda powered chassis weren't as bad as this year's, there were clear inadequacies in the team. With the new PU deal and some calmer heads at the helm, maybe everyone is putting in the extra work required to reach the ultimate goal.

Getting rid of Eric Boullier was a great move and the most important one in the restructuring process...

Remember they didn't get rid of him, he left on his own. Zak had already come out and said he wouldn't get rid of him. He left cause he had become a lightening rod for all the heat.

[diffuser]

I think it's because this year has been a big wake-up call for everyone. Even if the previous Honda powered chassis weren't as bad as this year's, there were clear inadequacies in the team. With the new PU deal and some calmer heads at the helm, maybe everyone is putting in the extra work required to reach the ultimate goal.

Getting rid of Eric Boullier was a great move and the most important one in the restructuring process...

Strange to see Eric go when he has ties with Renault, which is this year's PU for Mclaren. Did it go any better when Boullier left?

Eric did well when he was at Renault cause he had James Allison in the role of Technical Director. IMO that shows that he was never the technical leader and wasn't being asked to be one at McLaren. I don't think that anything that Happenned at McLaren was his fault. In the end the reason he left was because some of the comments he made to the press made him the lightening rod.

[RonDennis]

I think it's because this year has been a big wake-up call for everyone. Even if the previous Honda powered chassis weren't as bad as this year's, there were clear inadequacies in the team. With the new PU deal and some calmer heads at the helm, maybe everyone is putting in the extra work required to reach the ultimate goal.

Getting rid of Eric Boullier was a great move and the most important one in the restructuring process...

Strange to see Eric go when he has ties with Renault, which is this year's PU for Mclaren. Did it go any better when Boullier left?

What did you expect? Removing Boullier would gain them seconds? There were just too many 'leaders' at McLaren and Zak Brown is now the clear boss and the changes he made so far are looking good on paper in my opinion, but let's see how it will turn out in the next two seasons. Alonso is gone and looking at his luck, 2019 might not be that bad.

[McG]

I found this [all the overtakes he did in the race]. The double overtake is also in there, he overtook a Toro Rosso and Williams at the same time
https://streamable.com/npm96

Some sweet overtakes there. Well done Waffle.

Sadly too late to renew his contract with McLaren, but I am happy to see his performing improving.

Yes too late. Shame he's out of F1. But I don't think this 1 decent performance has changed anyone's mind that he is nothing special.

I hoped he would get another drive in F1 at Sauber or Red Bull though.


As for the Boullier discussion, even with his ridiculous PR talk, people would still have hoped at the time McLaren could improve to that level and still had the same disappointed when they didn't.

We've had Zak Brown saying it could take 10 years, but people here are still expecting improvement as soon as next year, even to jump other teams. McLaren will be lucky to stay ahead of Williams.

[Jackles-UK]

Don’t forget that McLaren started the year with arguably the 4th fastest race car with good results in the first 4 races of 2018 (including a 5th place in Australia). Their issue was them being totally unable to bolt any more speed onto it throughout the year.

Given they have a full year of integration with the Renault PU I can see the packaging and efficiency being greatly improved for 2019 and with the aero shake-up who’s to say they won’t leap-frog other midfield teams? Likewise who’s to say the Williams will automatically be bottom of the tree? I’m hopeful & optimistic both of those two can start their recovery in 2019; surely it can’t get much worse for Williams?!

[M840TR]

Don’t forget that McLaren started the year with arguably the 4th fastest race car with good results in the first 4 races of 2018 (including a 5th place in Australia). Their issue was them being totally unable to bolt any more speed onto it throughout the year.

Given they have a full year of integration with the Renault PU I can see the packaging and efficiency being greatly improved for 2019 and with the aero shake-up who’s to say they won’t leap-frog other midfield teams? Likewise who’s to say the Williams will automatically be bottom of the tree? I’m hopeful & optimistic both of those two can start their recovery in 2019; surely it can’t get much worse for Williams?!

No way. It was mostly Alonso driving the wheels of that thing like in Baku.

[Raleigh]

Don’t forget that McLaren started the year with arguably the 4th fastest race car with good results in the first 4 races of 2018 (including a 5th place in Australia). Their issue was them being totally unable to bolt any more speed onto it throughout the year.

Given they have a full year of integration with the Renault PU I can see the packaging and efficiency being greatly improved for 2019 and with the aero shake-up who’s to say they won’t leap-frog other midfield teams? Likewise who’s to say the Williams will automatically be bottom of the tree? I’m hopeful & optimistic both of those two can start their recovery in 2019; surely it can’t get much worse for Williams?!

I would like to think both teams can produce a car that at least runs in the midfield for 2019 but the midpack competition is going to be brutal next year.

Renault has been steadily rebuilding and moving up the field as they gear up for a title bid, odds of the team being closer to the front runners next year is good.

Force India is going down the listed components path buying front and rear suspension, brake ducts etc from Mercedes, on top of that they have a substantially improved budget.

Alfa Romeo Sauber had a bigger budget this year but the changeover was too late to produce a "B-spec Ferrari" in the manner of Haas, for 2019 they will have a car with full Ferrari listed parts and Ferrari-like packaging/powertrain integration, I'm expecting them at least up there with Haas and possibly ahead.

Toro Rosso is also going down the full listed components path, they will have Red Bull suspension front and back, the team is working very closely with Red Bull on shared solutions for integrating the Honda engine into both chassis.

In short, Renault, Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso are all likely to move forwards and the top of the midpack is going to be very crowded next year.

[bauc]

Don’t forget that McLaren started the year with arguably the 4th fastest race car with good results in the first 4 races of 2018 (including a 5th place in Australia). Their issue was them being totally unable to bolt any more speed onto it throughout the year.

Given they have a full year of integration with the Renault PU I can see the packaging and efficiency being greatly improved for 2019 and with the aero shake-up who’s to say they won’t leap-frog other midfield teams? Likewise who’s to say the Williams will automatically be bottom of the tree? I’m hopeful & optimistic both of those two can start their recovery in 2019; surely it can’t get much worse for Williams?!

I would like to think both teams can produce a car that at least runs in the midfield for 2019 but the midpack competition is going to be brutal next year.

Renault has been steadily rebuilding and moving up the field as they gear up for a title bid, odds of the team being closer to the front runners next year is good.

Force India is going down the listed components path buying front and rear suspension, brake ducts etc from Mercedes, on top of that they have a substantially improved budget.

Alfa Romeo Sauber had a bigger budget this year but the changeover was too late to produce a "B-spec Ferrari" in the manner of Haas, for 2019 they will have a car with full Ferrari listed parts and Ferrari-like packaging/powertrain integration, I'm expecting them at least up there with Haas and possibly ahead.

Toro Rosso is also going down the full listed components path, they will have Red Bull suspension front and back, the team is working very closely with Red Bull on shared solutions for integrating the Honda engine into both chassis.

In short, Renault, Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso are all likely to move forwards and the top of the midpack is going to be very crowded next year.

Very good assessment, I think next year, if the rule changes indeed provide better racing we will see a true battle for the last 4 positions in the points every race. By the looks of it, Mclaren has dropped any significant development on the MCL33 after Barcelona, so they have the time needed to produce better chassis,and with Red Bull winning with Renault engine 3-4 times a year there are no excuses for bad performance next year. I thnik, if all issues sorted, they will fight for the 5th position in the constructors, but also a limiting factor is the fact that they will have 2 new drivers, one of which will be a rookie.

[diffuser]

I'm of the opinion that the McLaren Chassis (less aero) is the best in the midfield. You can see by how good it is with the tires. The Chassis is able to keep a large foot print of the tire on the ground through all types of curves. Where they break down, on that front, is under cooler conditions. They have warm up problems.

We'll see if it is true but I think they're gonna completely repackage the PU for 2019. That will trickle over to the side-pods and barge-boards. Add in the rule changes(Front wing, rear wing and brake ducks), we're gonna see a completely new aero package.

I also expect RBR to fall back. I think the PU change will hit them. It will be interesting to see if the rear of their car is wider. They use alot of that space above the PU that I think will now have to be used by the Honda PU. They're Also dong all this in the mist of rule changes. How much and for how long is a mystery. As well as the Honda PU's performance and 1 new driver.

[WaikeCU]

I'm of the opinion that the McLaren Chassis (less aero) is the best in the midfield. You can see by how good it is with the tires. The Chassis is able to keep a large foot print of the tire on the ground through all types of curves. Where they break down, on that front, is under cooler conditions. They have warm up problems.

We'll see if it is true but I think they're gonna completely repackage the PU for 2019. That will trickle over to the side-pods and barge-boards. Add in the rule changes(Front wing, rear wing and brake ducks), we're gonna see a completely new aero package.

I also expect RBR to fall back. I think the PU change will hit them. It will be interesting to see if the rear of their car is wider. They use alot of that space above the PU that I think will now have to be used by the Honda PU. They're Also dong all this in the mist of rule changes. How much and for how long is a mystery. As well as the Honda PU's performance and 1 new driver.

Can it be read like, it didn't use the full potential of the tire enough?

[McG]

Seems like McLaren got a lot more laps this year than with Honda? That must help.

[M840TR]

I'm of the opinion that the McLaren Chassis (less aero) is the best in the midfield. You can see by how good it is with the tires. The Chassis is able to keep a large foot print of the tire on the ground through all types of curves. Where they break down, on that front, is under cooler conditions. They have warm up problems.

We'll see if it is true but I think they're gonna completely repackage the PU for 2019. That will trickle over to the side-pods and barge-boards. Add in the rule changes(Front wing, rear wing and brake ducks), we're gonna see a completely new aero package.

I also expect RBR to fall back. I think the PU change will hit them. It will be interesting to see if the rear of their car is wider. They use alot of that space above the PU that I think will now have to be used by the Honda PU. They're Also dong all this in the mist of rule changes. How much and for how long is a mystery. As well as the Honda PU's performance and 1 new driver.

Tyre management is something very driver dependent. Not in every case like Williams, but most. Just look at Stoffel's onboard from Mexico. He avoided flooring the throttle too early and being in following car's wake. By comparison, the Ferrari which is very well regarded as being gentle on its tyres, destroyed them in Monza because Kimi was too keen to get on the power. So I won't accredit all of it to the car. Maybe since the rear-end stability is so bad, the drivers have adapted to it by not being aggressive in slow-speed corners which helps tyre deg.
This lack of drivability alone shows how bad the chassis is. Never mind the tyre warm-up, transmission and other problems. I'm surprised they haven't brought any solutions to this really, like wheel ribs. When you're faster on the slower compound, it means almost 3-5 tenths (average delta b\w compounds) are being lost in qualy. That would've rung alarm bells in a top team! Things won't be ever better if they keep this up. As Gene Haas said: couple of tenths on the chassis, couple on the aero and another few on the tyres. Add it up and you have your 2 sec gap midfield to pole.

Redbull - another team that needs some introspection if they're gonna challenge for the title again. They're doing exactly what Mclaren did with their PU supplier. I mean, when was the last time you saw a Ferrari or Merc retiring due to a broken exhaust clip or a clutch.