2019 Mclaren F1 Team - Renault

[diffuser]

The down side now. Sorry guys.

Before the season kicked off, and for the first couple of races when he was 'new' I had great hopes for Lando. I think now that they were misplaced.

I do not mean that he is a bad river, just not a natural champion. He will probably have a good F1 career, but unless he lucks into an exceptional car, which is possible, I do not see several championships coming his way. Shame, I had high hopes.


Maybe not the best time to bring it up, but lets keep our feet on the ground.

I think it's far too soon to come to this conclusion. He actually had a great race the previous round in the US. the good news is that he knows he's been off form, that there is more room to improve and is supporting his teammate. I think he will have an epic season next year if he gets the car

I agree with big tea, he has not been very impressive the last couple of races. I haven't given up on him.

[Jackles-UK]

Let’s not forget that Sainz is one race from finishing his fifth full season in F1, Lando just his first. Lando has also been by far the most unlucky driver this season giving up at least four good points-scoring finishes due to reliability/operational issues (including a 5th in Spa with only one lap to go) and without these he could have accrued almost double the points he has.

He has matched Carlos 10-10 in qualifying trim which proves he has the raw pace which you can’t teach. Hopefully his race-craft improves next season with a bit of extra experience - his battles at the start of the race today showed a bit more aggression which is good, early on in the season he was definitely a little too passive but he’s getting the elbows out a bit more now which should do him good.

Huge credit goes to Carlos yet again. Having effectively been dumped by both Red Bull and Renault in the last few years I think there’s genuinely a good argument for him being the driver of the season when you take into account all things and the level he has consistently performed at. He has often out-performing the car like he did today and has numerous times turned an 8th-9th place finish into a 5th or better with his race-craft, consistency and tenacity.

[_cerber1]

[Mansell89]

Let’s not forget that Sainz is one race from finishing his fifth full season in F1, Lando just his first. Lando has also been by far the most unlucky driver this season giving up at least four good points-scoring finishes due to reliability/operational issues (including a 5th in Spa with only one lap to go) and without these he could have accrued almost double the points he has.

He has matched Carlos 10-10 in qualifying trim which proves he has the raw pace which you can’t teach. Hopefully his race-craft improves next season with a bit of extra experience - his battles at the start of the race today showed a bit more aggression which is good, early on in the season he was definitely a little too passive but he’s getting the elbows out a bit more now which should do him good.

Huge credit goes to Carlos yet again. Having effectively been dumped by both Red Bull and Renault in the last few years I think there’s genuinely a good argument for him being the driver of the season when you take into account all things and the level he has consistently performed at. He has often out-performing the car like he did today and has numerous times turned an 8th-9th place finish into a 5th or better with his race-craft, consistency and tenacity.

Completely agree.

That anyone is even remotely talking about “giving up” on Lando is more testament to the job Carlos has gone.

Norris has had an excellent first season. He will be back and will keep getting better. He and George Russell will have some great British battles if they get the respective machinery.

Sainz has showed a little bit of the old Alonso this year- getting points that didn’t look on the table, an excellent season for him.

Now what we want is McLaren to chip away at that gap to the front three teams. A big task but hopefully on the right track.

[Nivedanm]

I think the criticism on Nando is a bit unfair. While a lot of people have mentioned how unlucky he had been this season, and how good he has been in qualifying, we should also note a few important things.

Even Verstappen was far from perfect in is first few seasons - crashing into others and kissing the barriers. In comparison, Lando has been more cautious and less damage prone in his first season. Tbf, both our drivers haven't spun a lot, crashed into barriers or damaged their front wings often with mistakes of their own in practice sessions and qualy/race. Even the drivers of the top teams have made such mistakes.

Further, they have been choosy and careful about their overtakes and the level of aggression needed. In contrast, a fine driver like Ricciardo who has fantastic race pace has often lost out often because of overtly aggressive and risky moves. Our boys have been much cleaner and careful. As someone pointed out before, Lando's problem has been tyre management. With more experience and less ill-fortune, I am confident that he will be up there with Sainz.

[Ground Effect]

https://radikal.ru

Maybe Lando should switch his car number to 2 next season, he obviously can’t take 1

[PhillipM]

It's quite amusing that it's the same bunch of people slating Lando that were also saying we needed to ditch Carlos at the start of the season because he was ---....

[Ground Effect]

It's quite amusing that it's the same bunch of people slating Lando that were also saying we needed to ditch Carlos at the start of the season because he was ---....

True, I remember Carlos being labelled as average, not McLaren calibre. But if we take all things into consideration, pound for pound, he’s a very strong candidate for driver of the season. He’s been improving every single season, but took a huge step forward this year. I really hope the team will pull a blinder next season and at least give the top 3 something to think about when they’re planning their race strategy.
Lando for me, only has race management issues with the tyres, which can be put down to inexperience. He’ll improve, with the right kind of support from the team. Pure pace wise, he has nothing to worry about, he’s definitely not slow, he can overtake and his starts off the line have improved.

[Wouter]

[bauc]

Cant wait for Mclaren unboxed

[mclaren113]

The most important thing now is to make sure Carlos jumps Gasly in the drivers standing..they're both 95 points

[bauc]

The most important thing now is to make sure Carlos jumps Gasly in the drivers standing..they're both 95 points

Well if he stays trouble free he should be able to finish infront of him at the next race, plus he has a fresh engine which they can tune up for the last race as it only needs to do one more race.

[FittingMechanics]

It really is jumping the gun to say Lando disappointed. Lando did really well throughout the year. At the start of the season, he was more hesitant and cautious, opting to play it safe to get laps and experience needed. During the year he realized that some drivers are trying to exploit it (Ricciardo comes to mind) by divebombing, so he adapted and he was very strong in defense in Brazil, he moved all the way to the left to block Ricciardo (something Perez didn't do properly which allowed Sainz through) and he was not intimitated by thug move Leclerc pulled on him. I was very impressed by his drive. In the last few races, his issue was that he couldn't manage the tires as well as Sainz. Possible reason is that he tried to overtake but couldn't do it, so he probably overcooked his tires.

Sainz on the other hand has had a great and steady season and it looks like tire management and racecraft is his strong suit. In raw pace, it's possible that Lando is faster but Carlos is a better race driver at this moment. Sainz was able to defend and protect his position on two safety car restarts, both times with tires that have been quite used, he earned his P3 in a big way. Grosjean was another car that attempted to do what Sainz was, and we all saw how he fell back through the ranks on safety car restarts. Great job Sainz.

[thestig84]

Well said FitttingMechanics. Totally agree with your summary. Especially how pleased I was after he stood up to Leclerc " thug move " (funny how much trouble his teammate is getting for moving slightly yet not a comment on this move on Lando!)

[FittingMechanics]

Great video from onboards of Norris, Leclerc and Ricciardo from the start. Good driving by Lando. At one moment an Alfa almost took him out.

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2019/ ... attle.html