chrisgr wrote: ↑27 Jun 2021, 08:51
If we accept that Mclaren had this strange characteristic 3 or 4 years now how was it that Sainz could get very good results in 2019 after 3-4 races? I mean most of the times, the fault its on both sides. I dont believe the car has changed so much this year. We spend the tokens to fit the new engine so it wasnt possible to use someone's feedback to design a car that suits him. It is just an incompatibility of the MP35M and Ricciardo's driving style. Maybe they should have predicted this. Or they did but they expected RIC to adjust more easily.
The Renault also had strange driving characteristics which according to Hulk where there for years since he 1st joined. Sainz even drove the 2017 Renault for the last 4 races and gave feedback/input on the 2018 design but still could not beat Hulk all of 2018.
Did Mclaren worry or predict this back then after seeing Sainz struggle at Renault?
if i had to guess Sainz struggled from race 1 at Mclaren the same as he did when he joined Renault and Hulk dominated him, but because Norris was completely new to F1, it made it look like Sainz did not struggle initially like he did with Hulk at Renault.
If Sainz had joined Mclaren with Alonso still there (who is much faster than Hulk) then Sainz career i believe would have been over as Alonso would have demolished him in 2019 by a much bigger margin than Hulk did in 2018 at Renault. It would have been a carrer ending Vandoorne thrashing.
If Ric joined Mclaren in 2019 instead of Renault it would have been a completely different story with Norris as a rookie team mate from race 1.
Ric also complained of the driving characteristics of the 2019 Renault but managed to beat Hulk something Sainz was not able to do.
The 2020 Renault was designed with Rics input in mind and Ric was probably the best, most consistent driver of 2020.
Why else did Ric improve so much at Renault in 2020 as opposed to his 2019 season.
Input/feedback mainly and time to adjust.
What else could explain Rics massively improved 2020 Renault form?
Ayrton Senna: Pure driving, pure racing, that´s what makes me happy.