2017 Mclaren F1 Team - Honda

[OviJohn]

Interesting article:

Inside Line: Why is McLaren so keen on problematic Renault?

https://www.grandprix247.com/2017/09/05 ... r-renault/

[adrianjordan]

If Mclaren can plug the funding gap of having Honda leave, then why don't they simply buy a smaller team and swap PU until the Honda comes good?

Manor would have been ideal as they had Merc PU's.

Maybe that's where the talks around STR are really heading....

Are Force India still for sale??

[nanocustic]

Interesting article:

Inside Line: Why is McLaren so keen on problematic Renault?

https://www.grandprix247.com/2017/09/05 ... r-renault/

Too much of one side of the story.

[Vasconia]

Interesting article:

Inside Line: Why is McLaren so keen on problematic Renault?

https://www.grandprix247.com/2017/09/05 ... r-renault/

I mostly agree with this article tough there is no better alternative to choose. But this sentence goes too far in my opinion:

2Renault have not progressed with their power unit Vis–à–vis Mercedes and Ferrari. And their works team, which one would imagine would get the best bits, is actually a bit of a joke right now."

If you look to Hulkenberg´s performance I wouldn´t say that this car is bad. Nothing special but the imrpovement is pretty clear from last seasons awful car.

[Del Boy]

Seriously people, is it so hard to understand the concept of damage mitigation ?!

- Yes we all wished at some point that Honda finally had a breaktrough with their PU.
- Yes it´s better to have a works deal anytime before a customer deal.
- Yes Mclaren wants championships and not just random wins/podiums

...And the list can go on and on. But you know what guys, that ship has sailed!

That´s what your crystal ball said?

Or you´ve some insights from Honda, have seen the PU, the engineers, etc. and know their work is useless and they will never solve their problems, not in this, next or 2019 seasons?
...

I dont have a crystal ball, but Mclaren has more insight about the whole affair plus a guy named Illien, as I mentioned in my post. So, do you think they´ll make this decision to split "just because?" Or do you actually believe that Mclaren is willing to wait for the 4, 5 years it usually takes to become winners? If that was the case that would be an easy PR talk to feed for all the media, fans and staff enduring the situation; dont you think?

If you´ve payed attention to Zaks interviews, Alonso (Last night at "El Hormiguero" http://soymotor.com/noticias/alonso-en- ... ana-939059) , and EBs latest (below); you´d know that Mclaren and company are at their limit and cannot afford to wait any longer for Honda to come good. The plan was 3 years, not 4, not 5. So yeah, both are to blame for "Believing" they could outdo F1 history

Eric Boullier: Honda failed. It's time to make a decision

Source: https://www.f1news.ru/interview/boullier/123499.shtml

Racing director McLaren Eric Boullier in an exclusive interview with F1News.ru unequivocally stated that Honda did not cope with the tasks that faced the Japanese minder - probably these words can be considered a kind of sentence.

In the text of the interview there are a few more points that indirectly confirm: in McLaren are preparing to change the supplier of engines, and Fernando Alonso may well remain in the team for at least a year ...

Question: If there is a crisis - in any sphere, be it economy or, for example, personal life, as a rule it is not some definite moment of time, but a certain period that can be broken into several phases. What phase of the crisis period is going through now McLaren?
Eric Boullier: (after a pause) This is the final decision stage. As in your personal life, first you try to achieve some improvement, try one scenario, then another, a third, maybe even the fourth. And then come to a certain conclusion. Now we are at this stage.

We are negotiating with all interested parties, and now it's time to get answers and make decisions.

Question: At a recent meeting with the press Zach Brown stressed that no decisions have been taken yet ...
Eric Boullier: That's right.

Question: But at the same time, September is already on the calendar. Obviously, whatever the solution, you will face additional difficulties, simply because there is very little time left? Or all problems can be solved at the expense of financial injections, allocation of any additional resources?
Eric Boullier: No, you can not squeeze time. In theory, we could make a decision later, but this will negatively affect our results in the next year. We are already in the "red zone", so the decision must be made not today - tomorrow, in any case, this week, and not on the next. For example, in two weeks it will be too late in Singapore.

Question: I want to remind you of an interview two years ago for F1News.ru in Silverstone. In 2015, you said literally the following: "I want to prove that McLaren and Honda can win together."
Eric Boullier: Yes, he said.

Question: Are you ready to repeat these words now?
Eric Boullier: (grins) Now I would have said differently. Since 2015, as partners with Honda, we have set ourselves certain goals. Then all agreed on everything, the plans were agreed upon and accepted by both sides. Since then, McLaren has been able to achieve all of the goals, but Honda failed 100% of the time. If they had accomplished their tasks, we could have won together. But now I'm not sure that it's possible.

Question: In the same interview you praised Fernando Alonso and said that he was pushing the team, pushing it in the right direction. Does he still do it?
Eric Boullier: Yes, definitely.

Question: And in what direction is he pushing McLaren now?
Eric Boullier: In the right!

Q: So you are still allies?
Eric Boullier: Yes. Fernando has access to all our calculations, he is aware of everything that is associated with the modernization of the chassis, but with this all right. He likes our approach to work, likes the people who surround him, and I think he still believes in McLaren. Probably, in Honda's ability to achieve goals, he believes less.

Question: There have been big changes in the leadership of McLaren. How did this affect the atmosphere in the team? Were the tasks McLaren shareholders put in place, appointing Zach Brown to the position of executive director of McLaren Group?
Eric Boullier: It's not just about Zach Brown's appointment. Inside the McLaren Group, in its various divisions was a complete restructuring. As for McLaren Racing, this company has not touched the changes at all. Everything remains as it was.

I would say that the biggest visible change is that the leadership of the entire group of companies has become more accessible to contacts - due to the fact that the so-called executive committee was formed, which includes the owners of McLaren - Sheikh Mohammed bin Issa Al Khalifa and Mansour Ojay. They regularly visit the company's office and are in constant interaction with the team.

Zack Brown is responsible for business matters, and in this area, too, there are positive changes. He actively communicates with the sponsors, takes care of them and changes the approaches that were practiced in this area before.

Jonathan Neale now oversees several areas, responsible for the effective operation of all units of the McLaren Group, but at the same time in McLaren Racing nothing has changed. All reforms took place at higher levels, and it did not affect me, the head of McLaren Racing. All the operational work we are doing together with John Cooper and Simon Roberts, my functional duties and the work of my technical team did not change at all.

Q: It looks like Zach Brown was a good choice for McLaren? Including because the big changes occur in the Formula 1 with the arrival of new owners, the American company Liberty Media. He is also an American, probably, it is easier for him to understand his compatriots. It is now clear that Formula 1 is starting to move in a new direction - are you personally 100% supportive of all these reforms?
Eric Boullier: But in fact, in fact, we have not seen anything yet. Discussions are underway, but we do not exactly know what will be proposed to change, and what will really change in the future. But already now, the desire of new owners to improve the quality of the show on the track and beyond. And the results of this work are already noticeable: spectators in the stands have become much more. Last week in the Spa was something incredible, I have not seen it for 15 years!

The interest is very large, and it's great. Formula 1 has not lost its appeal, and as soon as you slightly increase the entertainment, add some new activities for the public during race weekends, interact more actively with it through social networks - voila! At the race already comes to 15% more fans.

Question: But there are also more complex tasks, for example, everyone is now talking about the new engines that Formula 1 will have to go through in 2021. From your point of view, what kind of engines should these be, what can they become in reality? Can the concept of a future powerplant prove to be such that McLaren will think about the production of its own engines?
Eric Boullier: One of the problems is the current technical regulations of Formula 1. Hybrid powerplants are so complicated in the development, production and operation that this resulted in a significant spread in the efficiency of Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda engines. For the future, we must ensure that this difference will be less, that the competitive environment will become more homogeneous and fair.

This can be achieved by shifting to simpler technologies, and technical solutions should be such that their implementation reduces the costs of developing, manufacturing and upgrading power plants. Therefore, there are discussions about a possible transition to engines with a dual turbo and MGU-K motor-generator, there should be nothing else there.

We should see the new regulations on engines in the final form, evaluate development costs, and if they are at an acceptable level, then perhaps we will consider the issue of manufacturing our own engines.

Question: Up to 2021, there are three years left - is this time enough for the implementation of such a project?
Eric Boullier: Yes, quite.

Question: Let's talk about the McLaren drivers, because you also have a youth program, like the other big teams, and you are directly engaged in it. Does this mean that the next partner Stoffel Vandorn will necessarily be one of its participants, for example, Lando Norris?
Eric Boullier: Yes, of course. I think in the future everything will be just like this. But we do not know yet when exactly, because now we are quite happy with the work of Fernando and Stoffel. The contract with Vandorn has already been confirmed, and we also expect that the team will remain Fernando. We are ready to continue cooperation with Alonso, while he remains competitive, and while he likes to work with us. But who exactly from our young riders can go to the core of McLaren, I will not tell you yet.

EDIT: Names!

A very good article. And perhaps Ricardo/McLaren could build a 2021 PU, I like the sound of that.

[jonas_linder]

http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opini ... gine-chase

[etusch]

Can anyone share with us Gary Anderso's autosport article or brief of it

[ZakB]

Can anyone share with us Gary Anderso's autosport article or brief of it

Chassis-wise, it would be compared directly to Red Bull, and the works Renault team; and if Fernando Alonso stays on alongside Stoffel Vandoorne, then McLaren would be, driver-wise, able to go up against Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo. That means no excuses - it's put up or shut up.

I don't see McLaren being anything other than a third Renault team. That might not be a bad place to be, but right now the Renault is not as strong a power unit as the Mercedes or the Ferrari, and reliability is not great. It might be better than Honda, and it might have big potential, but it's not going to solve all of McLaren's problems immediately.

And there is a risk attached to this option. McLaren's shareholders have very deep pockets, but there is a reason for that and they are very astute in business. McLaren is not overloaded with sponsorship and to throw away a huge amount of money, reputed to be around $100million per year, is a brave move.

Someone, presumably Zak Brown, is going to have to drag in some more sponsorship dollars to make up the shortfall. If not, the shareholders are going to look at the balance sheet a little more often and start asking some awkward questions.

McLaren should have huge potential. It has a facility that is second to none - or, at least, that's what we're led to believe - but with another season like 2017, next year things could quickly start to unravel. We've seen this with other teams. Things don't go as planned, the good people get snatched up and very soon you need to start restructuring.

This can leave you in a holding pattern than can last for months, if not years. This is what the works Renault team is now working on trying to recover from.

Honda, like anyone that gets involved in F1, has a major facility in the UK for the operation of the engines. But it was too easy to think that all the design and development work could be done in Japan, with only servicing and running of the power units in Europe. When you're away from the cliff face, it's too easy to become detached. Also, getting good people with current experience is important, and Honda didn't do much of that.

The rest is the usual McLaren hate from Anderson.

[etusch]

Thank you for sharing.

[HPD]

The renault engine is good, not as good as Mercedes or Ferrari.
The Honda engine is now not so good, but at the end of the year it can be a "good" engine.

Alain Prost is a very sincere person, in 2018 Renault will not have a motor to win and Honda either.. but they will be equal engines in performance.

When mclaren says they want to win now, has no sense.

“We are open to the idea of supplying either Toro Rosso or McLaren,” said Renault special advisor Alain Prost at Monza, “but it is impossible for us to supply both. Also, I would point out that we do not expect to be able to supply a winning engine as early as next year and for a driver of Fernando Alonso’s stature, that might be a problem.”
http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opini ... gine-chase

[fellowhoodlums]

The renault engine is good, not as good as Mercedes or Ferrari.
The Honda engine is now not so good, but at the end of the year it can be a "good" engine.

Alain Prost is a very sincere person, in 2018 Renault will not have a motor to win and Honda either.. but they will be equal engines in performance.

When mclaren says they want to win now, has no sense.

“We are open to the idea of supplying either Toro Rosso or McLaren,” said Renault special advisor Alain Prost at Monza, “but it is impossible for us to supply both. Also, I would point out that we do not expect to be able to supply a winning engine as early as next year and for a driver of Fernando Alonso’s stature, that might be a problem.”
http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opini ... gine-chase

Is this the same Prost that swapped Mansells car out without telling him because it was set up better?

[JonoNic]

The renault engine is good, not as good as Mercedes or Ferrari.
The Honda engine is now not so good, but at the end of the year it can be a "good" engine.

Alain Prost is a very sincere person, in 2018 Renault will not have a motor to win and Honda either.. but they will be equal engines in performance.

When mclaren says they want to win now, has no sense.

“We are open to the idea of supplying either Toro Rosso or McLaren,” said Renault special advisor Alain Prost at Monza, “but it is impossible for us to supply both. Also, I would point out that we do not expect to be able to supply a winning engine as early as next year and for a driver of Fernando Alonso’s stature, that might be a problem.”
http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opini ... gine-chase

Is this the same Prost that swapped Mansells car out without telling him because it was set up better?

You hold a grudge hey

[ZakB]

The renault engine is good, not as good as Mercedes or Ferrari.
The Honda engine is now not so good, but at the end of the year it can be a "good" engine.

Alain Prost is a very sincere person, in 2018 Renault will not have a motor to win and Honda either.. but they will be equal engines in performance.

When mclaren says they want to win now, has no sense.

“We are open to the idea of supplying either Toro Rosso or McLaren,” said Renault special advisor Alain Prost at Monza, “but it is impossible for us to supply both. Also, I would point out that we do not expect to be able to supply a winning engine as early as next year and for a driver of Fernando Alonso’s stature, that might be a problem.”
http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opini ... gine-chase

Equal engines, hahaha, the engine behind the Honda propaganda is the only thing working like it should. The amount of Honda sponsorships also seems to grow every minute. Now its 100 million pounds. You're the biggest fanboy in here, even your username shows you're blind for everything that isn't Honda.

[etusch]

Equal engines, hahaha, the engine behind the Honda propaganda is the only thing working like it should.

I am sure one thing, you won't be happy with renault pu too ? Of course I am saying this assuming you don't think like williams and not enjoying just taking points

[ZakB]

Equal engines, hahaha, the engine behind the Honda propaganda is the only thing working like it should.

I am sure one thing, you won't be happy with renault pu too ? Of course I am saying this assuming you don't think like williams and not enjoying just taking points

I don't understand one thing you're saying.

I would be happy with Renault, Honda are a bunch of amateurs with dated facilities, a nobody as leader, smaller budget compared to the others, no external expertise, no power, no reliability and failing updates. History have shown that things don't always fall in place, especially with Honda.