2021 Mclaren F1 Team

[SmallSoldier]

There was no persisting PU issue. He pins his entire race on being struck in traffic when Leclerc carved through the field like a knife through butter with that Ferrari engine.

Leclerc carved through the field thanks to a tire advantage… Been on Mediums versus everyone else on not only Hards, but Hards with several laps on them made the overtakes easier


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Pretty sure Charles had better or at least equal pace with Lando on his first stint as well, so that helps. He closed up to the DRS chain group quite quickly after his early pitstop. And remember, Lando had amazing pace generally compared to the rest of the midfield in his first stint. He pulled 15s on Stroll before he pit ...

Absolutely!… Lando’s pace on the first stint was quiet impressive, not only from a lap time perspective, but how he managed those soft tires for such a long stint… His last stint on the Hards, he was just managing the pace and delta to Carlos.

In regards to Daniel, one thing to keep in mind is that been in that DRS train is hard… Bottas in a way superior car struggle to make inroads on Daniel himself at the end of the lap… When you are trying to protect the tires, it’s very hard to be close enough to make the move stick with such a close midfield.


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[SmallSoldier]

but the fact that the team finished best of the rest, is really positive


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It was much closer between Macca & Ferrari then I expected. Too close for comfort

We suspected going into the race Ferrari’s pace looked strong, which turned out to be true, I for one was surprised at this because I believed McLaren hadn’t m shown their true potential in practice

The good news is 8 races-in, and no nasty surprises from the 35m, at least in Lando’s hands

I think there’s plenty of positives for Danny, even if the weekends result doesn’t show it. Well never know what he could have done without the loss of power, I suspect 8th given Ferrari’s race pace, so not a big loss, but it comes together for him soon

They have so much data available that they know exactly where the difference to Lando is, the challenge is that is a matter of feeling and that’s hard to surpass… I do believe that one of these weekends something will “click” between Daniel and the MCL35M, whether is going to come from the setup or simply Daniel doing something a little out of his comfort zone that works and he can repeat consistently and he will be in form.

The speed traces show a clear story of someone that is braking earlier, carrying the brakes for longer to help the car rotate and is not on the throttle as quick and as aggressive as his team mate (who proves that it can be done)… It’s interesting how long is taking him to get there, but the reality is that we are talking thousands of a second differences that end up piling up to the lap time difference we are seeing.


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[CjC]

Lando sandbagging in the post race interview by saying that next week with the softer tires Ferrari has an advantage. Sainz in the next interview asking what is he drinking because Ferrari prefers the harder tires.

I was gonna say the same, especially about what Sainz said.
It’s going to be one of those seasons where we’ll only know once the chequered flag is waved. It’s just gonna ebb and flow

[mvfad]

Newbie question:
Why does the difference between RBR/Mercedes to other cars (Mclaren especially) increase so much at race time? In qualifying it was 0.2s, but in the race, it was something close to 0.8s ~1.2s per lap (a huge diff). Why does this happen? It seems (to me) that RBR/Mercedes use maximum power in both qualifying and racing, while Mclaren doesn't use max power in races.

[littlebigcat]

Fuel load accentuates the gap between the best cars and the rest

[Emag]

Its not about power, its about tires.

You can go all out on qualifying because tire life is not important. So in ultimate pace, these cars are not very far from each other.

The problem is that for the midfield teams the pace is not sustainable.

They use more % of the tire to achieve the same laptime.

Also, when the tire falls off a bit, then the pace depends entirely on the car quality as the mechanical grip from the tires fades out. So the difference is magnified.

Basically, McLaren can keep up for 2-3 laps. Then the tires fall of a bit and the better cars can keep the same pace for longer, whereas McLaren can't without completely destroying their tires.

[SmallSoldier]

Its not about power, its about tires.

You can go all out on qualifying because tire life is not important. So in ultimate pace, these cars are not very far from each other.

The problem is that for the midfield teams the pace is not sustainable.

They use more % of the tire to achieve the same laptime.

Also, when the tire falls off a bit, then the pace depends entirely on the car quality as the mechanical grip from the tires fades out. So the difference is magnified.

Basically, McLaren can keep up for 2-3 laps. Then the tires fall of a bit and the better cars can keep the same pace for longer, whereas McLaren can't without completely destroying their tires.

Great points… It is really a function of grip, the difference between the cars is really made in the corners, not the straights… The better cars can carry more speed in the corners even when they are “coasting”, the additional downforce / grip also keeps their tires alive for longer.

But the other important part of the equation is who are you racing, let’s say that the MCL was indeed 0.5 seconds from RBR/Merc… With that gap they won’t finish ahead of them… So, it becomes a matter of going as slow as possible to ensure you finish in front of your rivals… There is no point in stressing the car more than necessary to finish in the same position, Better to save the engine a bit, as we as the gearbox… The team could finish closer, but they won’t if there is nothing to gain from it


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[CjC]

Lando mentioned post race that on the long runs Merc and Red Bull can keep their rear tyres in better shape. Not sure if that was just track specific to Austria as it’s a feat limited circuit

[Xero]

There is no point in stressing the car more than necessary to finish in the same position, Better to save the engine a bit, as we as the gearbox… The team could finish closer, but they won’t if there is nothing to gain from it

This is an key point. Teams only have 3 sets of PU components to go the whole season (only 2 for a couple of them). McLaren (in Lando's case) have been fortunate to be able to manage these towards the ends of races, minimising any extremes they go under. This will increase their shelf life dramatically. Avoiding penalties in the latter stages of the season could be crucial, not only to securing 3rd, but also potentially pick up some additional podiums.

McLaren definitely playing the long game, it was evident when Lando practically pulled aside to concede 3rd today. He could have defended much longer, but it would have hurt his strategy and risked requiring to run harder later on for what would have certainly been the same outcome.

[SmallSoldier]

There is no point in stressing the car more than necessary to finish in the same position, Better to save the engine a bit, as we as the gearbox… The team could finish closer, but they won’t if there is nothing to gain from it

This is an key point. Teams only have 3 sets of PU components to go the whole season (only 2 for a couple of them). McLaren (in Lando's case) have been fortunate to be able to manage these towards the ends of races, minimising any extremes they go under. This will increase their shelf life dramatically. Avoiding penalties in the latter stages of the season could be crucial, not only to securing 3rd, but also potentially pick up some additional podiums.

McLaren definitely playing the long game, it was evident when Lando practically pulled aside to concede 3rd today. He could have defended much longer, but it would have hurt his strategy and risked requiring to run harder later on for what would have certainly been the same outcome.

Exactly my thought process… McLaren is been pretty smart about it… The car could go faster (like the heroics last season with Lando at the end of the GP or with Carlos also getting FL)… My guess is that they realized that Daniel was going to struggle a bit too much and even in his case, they probably didn’t go full beans either


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[Marble]

Data analysis : Ricciardo vs Norris

[mwillems]

Watch this video on youtube.

Lando has higher entry speed and higher minimum speed in high speed corners.

In turn 3, Lando brakes later and harder but comes off the brakes earlier and earlier to pickup the throttle. Also he is faster to go from zero to hundred percent throttle at exit. Result he is 9kph faster already at the DRS line. Ricciardo's technique of riding the brakes too deep in to the corner is costing him time at exit.

I just watched the Lando v Daniel video, it's really interesting. Daniel seems to brake a lot less and carry more speed into the corner initially in a lot of places. The side effect is that he is not able to get the car in the right direction as quick as Lando, meaning his corner exit is delayed and as he coasts round the corner looking for the exit, he ultimately becomes slower than Lando at his slowest point in the rotation. In the first few corners it just seemed like Lando is able to scrub speed much better than Daniel but then you watch turn ten, where Daniel doesn't brake at all, he coasts round it deliberately. Initially he is faster into the corner again, Lando applies a little break, just a little tap of the pedal, and he is able to point the car and exit the corner much quicker and carry more speed through it too.

It will be interesting to see telemetry from the other tracks, as here it appears to be the mid-high speed corners that he struggled with to any real degree.

Is he chasing a way to make his style work rather than adapting and doing what Lando does, in the belief that ultimately he can find a faster way through and he doesn't want to compromise?

[Xero]

Data analysis : Ricciardo vs Norris

Daniel matching well through the first 2 sectors (as we saw in qually, where he often posted a purple S1). So Daniel's issues are not under heavy braking, he has solved those early season issues. Here he is losing so much time through the final 3 fast corners, he's about 10kph down as Lando is able to carry speed and pick up the throttle much earlier. Daniel is just unable to rotate the car through trail braking at high speed (I suspect the car becomes pitch sensitive and difficult to manage, as Lando himself has alluded to), so it's purely a confidence lift. Going back to the same track next weekend might actually help him overcome that.

[JordanMugen]

Is he chasing a way to make his style work rather than adapting and doing what Lando does, in the belief that ultimately he can find a faster way through and he doesn't want to compromise?

Would it be a simplification to say the McLaren needs a V-shaped corner profile (braking in a straight line, turn the car hard, throttle in a straight line), whereas Ricciardo is trying to drive a classical U-shaped corner profile?

[SmallSoldier]

Data analysis : Ricciardo vs Norris

Daniel matching well through the first 2 sectors (as we saw in qually, where he often posted a purple S1). So Daniel's issues are not under heavy braking, he has solved those early season issues. Here he is losing so much time through the final 3 fast corners, he's about 10kph down as Lando is able to carry speed and pick up the throttle much earlier. Daniel is just unable to rotate the car through trail braking at high speed (I suspect the car becomes pitch sensitive and difficult to manage, as Lando himself has alluded to), so it's purely a confidence lift. Going back to the same track next weekend might actually help him overcome that.

The only concerning part for me is that the gap between them was big considering that this is almost a 1 minute lap… Half a second or more on such a short track is a lot of time…


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