2021 Mclaren F1 Team

[PhillipM]

Baku is going to be fun.

Is that PhillipM or PhillipM's Mclaren sources speaking?

Well lets just say, like I said preseason, the team were very excited about the low-drag/high speed package on the car

[the EDGE]

I won’t be sticking around for COD, but it’s always good to hear Lando’s race debrief

[Emag]

Baku is going to be fun.

Is that PhillipM or PhillipM's Mclaren sources speaking?

Well lets just say, like I said preseason, the team were very excited about the low-drag/high speed package on the car

Is this actual expectations before a race?

Ah ---, here we go again.

[BMMR61]

Baku is going to be fun.

Is Carlos going to tell Lando how good McLaren will be at Baku in a private conversation, and if so, will Lando share it?

[elldizzle]

I've said it before here but feel I wanna reiterate. This team has shown again this season their resolve and relentless progress. Daniels struggles aside. I have been following these team threads for the past few season now, and everyone's expectations have slowly gotten more and more optimistic as the season have gone on. We have gone from Maybe we can regularly score points to maybe we can get a podium, to now maybe we can get a win. And that's just phenomenal!.

[Manoah2u]

I really enjoy Mclaren's race in Monaco. I especially liked the livery, i honestly hope that this will return, and won't just be a one-off. It looks absolutely fantastic and is refreshingly recognisable yet appetising to look at. Indeed Mclaren have made much progress and the Mercedes engine does them a lot of good.

That said, Ferrari did particularly well @ Monaco aswell so it might also taint the image a bit.

It's unlikely that AMG Mercedes sees Merc pull the plug and convert it 'back' into 'Tyrrell' / Ineos whatever they want and as such i really genuinly doubt that Mclaren is going to be able to be WDC or WCC contenders with a customer engine. It is however without doubt that they have improved significantly.

[Mclarensenna]

https://www.speedcafe.com/2021/05/25/no ... han-sainz/

Lando Norris has suggested that Daniel Ricciardo is a less adaptable driver than Carlos Sainz.

Norris’ comments come five races into his relationship with Ricciardo, who joined McLaren at the start of 2021.

The seven-time Formula 1 grand prix winner succeeded Sainz at the Woking-based squad as the Spaniard headed to Ferrari to replace Sebastian Vettel.

Having now had time to work alongside Ricciardo, Norris has shed some light on how the Australian differs from his former stablemate.

“I think their driving styles are quite different, or very different, I would say,” the 21-year-old explained.

“There’s a lot of differences between them both.

“Daniel, from what I’ve seen so far, he wants a car that really suits him maybe a little bit more.

“Carlos was good at driving a car which wasn’t always that nice to drive, and he was very good at that.

“Daniel’s very, very fast when he has the car around him and when everything’s suited,” he added.

“But as soon as there’s a couple of problems, I think just as most drivers do, as soon as you lose that bit of confidence, then you just struggle a little bit more.

“I don’t think that’s just with him, that’s just something that some drivers have more than others – it is a confidence thing.”

Ricciardo played second fiddle to Norris in the opening three races of the season before besting him at the Spanish Grand Prix.

However, the early season trend returned last weekend in Monaco, with the Australian comprehensively overshadowed by his young team-mate.

The 2018 race winner finished a lap down in 12th having failed to progress from Qualifying 2, while Norris scored his second podium of the season.

Sainz was also on the podium, having demonstrated impressive pace around the Monaco streets.

Of those who changed teams in the off-season, the 26-year-old has proved the standout, matching his established Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.

That’s reflected in the drivers’ championship, too, with Sainz having scored 38 points to Ricciardo’s 24.

By contrast, Leclerc has scored only two more than his new stablemate, while Norris has amassed 56 to sit third in the title fight after five events.

The Formula 1 season continues with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, a race Ricciardo won in 2017 with Red Bull, on June 4-6.

"Lando Norris has suggested that Daniel Ricciardo is a less adaptable driver than Carlos Sainz."
I think everybody is confused on why Ric is struggling but less adaptable than Carlos?

Ric never got to drive the 2018 Renault to give any feedback. Then 2019 starts and he was struggling. he managed to get on top of Hulk though so he did adapt and beat Hulk.
Sainz on the other hand joined 4 races before the end of the year so had time to adapt and give feedback on the 2018 car which is a huge advantage. But then all of 2018 he still could not adapt and beat Hulk.
So Ric clearly adapted better to the Renault than Sainz did.

The Redbull though Ric adapted instantly. Ric drove the redbull in the 2009 test, 2010 test and 2013 test and in just a test was setting fastest laps and very comfortable. Then from race 1 in 2014 easily adapted beating Vettel right out of the box on race 1.

Look at Rusell last year he jumped into the Merc and without shoes fitting properly instantly adapted and was about to win the race. Rusell said the car is so easy to drive quick and does everything you want from a race car and perfect in every way basically. Also he has said the Williams is difficult to drive fast in comparison. It seems russell could not adapt to the Williams after 2 years in the same way he adapted to the Merc in 1 race. So yes that does seem to happen.


Why is Ric struggling to adapt to this Mclaren car might be an anomaly with this exact car setup/design. This year with budget cap they are limited in updates and most focusing on next year. Maybe Ric needs changes that cannot be implemented this year. Maybe we wont see Ric fully comfortable until next year?
It is a mystery though i will admit

[djos]

I really wonder if Daniel's car has a chassis flaw, as you pointed out, he has been able to adapt to multiple cars in the past without issues. It's not like Monaco is a bogey track for him either, he loves the place and has more race points from Monaco than almost any other driver currently on the grid.

I can't recall who it was, (was either Daniel or Seb), but one of the drivers mentioned the Merc is quite a "peaky" PU - that suggests that the Ferrari and Renault PU's have better drivability despite having less power.

[Mclarensenna]

I really wonder if Daniel's car has a chassis flaw, as you pointed out, he has been able to adapt to multiple cars in the past without issues. It's not like Monaco is a bogey track for him either, he loves the place and has more race points from Monaco than almost any other driver currently on the grid.

I can't recall who it was, (was either Daniel or Seb), but one of the drivers mentioned the Merc is quite a "peaky" PU - that suggests that the Ferrari and Renault PU's have better drivability despite having less power.

yes a chassis flaw sounds plausible as well. He did beat Hulk in 2019 as well 1st time out in a renault, qualifying 7th with Hulk in 11th and that 2019 Renault was extremely difficult to drive and on a knife edge according to both Ric and Hulk.

And yes Ric is definately a Monaco specialist. I would actually say Rics 2016 Monaco performance as possibly the best race of Rics career (even though he did not win). Because the Merc seemed to be the quickest car that weekend slightly not the redbull.
Ric did put it on pole by just over a tenth but i believe but due to his incredible lap not due to him having the fastest car.

Then in the race he was driving so angry (which is very unlike Ric) and so fast yet not losing control. I was watching it thinking he will crash for sure, what is he doing just bring the car home in 2nd. It looked like hes redbull was 2 seconds faster than the Merc that day, yet the Redbull was nowhere near that much faster. Possibly similar pace or slightly slower.

Ric put so much pressure on Hamilton right on his gearbox lap after lap doing qualy style laps to the absolute ragged edge and eventually Ham did crack and lost control in the exact same way vettel cracked in Canada (who did get a 5 second penalty) yet somehow stewards did not penalize Ham for the exact same thing.



Compare Rics driving that day and pressure when Vettel was behind him in 2018, With a broken ERS losing 4 seconds a lap Vettel with a much faster car was nowhere near his gearbox or putting any pressure on RIc in comparison.
Hence why i rate Rics performance that day at Monaco the best of his career and would have easily been if Stewards penalized Ham and gave him the win.

Instead history shows him as coming 2nd and not many rate this race as his Rics best. Most rate the 2018 Monaco race better as he won with a broken ERS. Impressive sure but i believe has nothing on his 2016 Monaco 2nd place.

So that deepens the mystery on why Ric struggled so much at Monaco in the Mclaren considering how fast he usually is there.

[SmallSoldier]

I really enjoy Mclaren's race in Monaco. I especially liked the livery, i honestly hope that this will return, and won't just be a one-off. It looks absolutely fantastic and is refreshingly recognisable yet appetising to look at. Indeed Mclaren have made much progress and the Mercedes engine does them a lot of good.

That said, Ferrari did particularly well @ Monaco aswell so it might also taint the image a bit.

It's unlikely that AMG Mercedes sees Merc pull the plug and convert it 'back' into 'Tyrrell' / Ineos whatever they want and as such i really genuinly doubt that Mclaren is going to be able to be WDC or WCC contenders with a customer engine. It is however without doubt that they have improved significantly.

Having a customer engine shouldn’t be an issue for a WDC or WCC aspiration... Specially if you have if not the best, one of the best engines in the grid.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[runningmanz]

I really wonder if Daniel's car has a chassis flaw, as you pointed out, he has been able to adapt to multiple cars in the past without issues. It's not like Monaco is a bogey track for him either, he loves the place and has more race points from Monaco than almost any other driver currently on the grid.

I can't recall who it was, (was either Daniel or Seb), but one of the drivers mentioned the Merc is quite a "peaky" PU - that suggests that the Ferrari and Renault PU's have better drivability despite having less power.

yes a chassis flaw sounds plausible as well. He did beat Hulk in 2019 as well 1st time out in a renault, qualifying 7th with Hulk in 11th and that 2019 Renault was extremely difficult to drive and on a knife edge according to both Ric and Hulk.

And yes Ric is definately a Monaco specialist. I would actually say Rics 2016 Monaco performance as possibly the best race of Rics career (even though he did not win). Because the Merc seemed to be the quickest car that weekend slightly not the redbull.
Ric did put it on pole by just over a tenth but i believe but due to his incredible lap not due to him having the fastest car.

Then in the race he was driving so angry (which is very unlike Ric) and so fast yet not losing control. I was watching it thinking he will crash for sure, what is he doing just bring the car home in 2nd. It looked like hes redbull was 2 seconds faster than the Merc that day, yet the Redbull was nowhere near that much faster. Possibly similar pace or slightly slower.

Ric put so much pressure on Hamilton right on his gearbox lap after lap doing qualy style laps to the absolute ragged edge and eventually Ham did crack and lost control in the exact same way vettel cracked in Canada (who did get a 5 second penalty) yet somehow stewards did not penalize Ham for the exact same thing.



Compare Rics driving that day and pressure when Vettel was behind him in 2018, With a broken ERS losing 4 seconds a lap Vettel with a much faster car was nowhere near his gearbox or putting any pressure on RIc in comparison.
Hence why i rate Rics performance that day at Monaco the best of his career and would have easily been if Stewards penalized Ham and gave him the win.

Instead history shows him as coming 2nd and not many rate this race as his Rics best. Most rate the 2018 Monaco race better as he won with a broken ERS. Impressive sure but i believe has nothing on his 2016 Monaco 2nd place.

So that deepens the mystery on why Ric struggled so much at Monaco in the Mclaren considering how fast he usually is there.

That 2016 Monaco drive was stonking from Ricciardo, on another planet really. Was gutted for him that year he was robbed. Was a dirty chop from Lewis too. Such a waste to see Ricciardo struggle at Monaco this year. As Brundle said it brings a tear to your eye.

Hope he bounces back and starts mastering this car a bit at Baku.

[Mclarensenna]

https://www.planetf1.com/news/mclaren-d ... o-chassis/

‘McLaren considering new chassis for Ricciardo’

[djos]

Good!

[radosav]

not the same sport but similar situation, Jorge Lorenzo explaining his situation and problems with Ducati bike, no matter how good you are some things are hard to handle

[Big Tea]

How quickly a driver can "adapt to" a car obviously depends on how far from his preference the original item is.
If it is along the same lines they prefer, or are used to with a previous car it will be a much shorter period than if they start at opposite ends of the spectrum and need to change both the car and the driving style.