McLaren

[Kraken]

They aren't the owners of the cycling team. It's just another partnership deal like many others up and down the pitlane.

[Buzz84]

Mr Pointy said:

Nice to see McLaren are keeping focused on building a not-ste car:

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/oneplus-6t-mcla...
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2018/12/11/mcl...

Mclaren consists of multiple companies involved in all manner of things.
this cycling venture is by McLaren Applied Technologies and their human performance team (which also helped the athletes at the Olympics) which have nothing to do with the designing running of the F1 car.

The phone will be just a marketing gimmick sorted by the marketing department. They're not exactly going to take the F1 engineers aside from the 2019 car development to assemble all those special phones in a side room at he technology centre...

It's the same as when you see people whinging about F1 on the Automotive facebook page.

It's like saying the virgin racing team failed because they spent too much time flying their 747s. Wrong place/wrong people, people like to just attack without even checking the facts or reading more than just the headline. very annoying.

(oh dear, I think I have probably just bitten to a troll post)

[Mr Pointy]

Buzz84 said:

Mr Pointy said:

Nice to see McLaren are keeping focused on building a not-ste car:

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/oneplus-6t-mcla...
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2018/12/11/mcl...

Mclaren consists of multiple companies involved in all manner of things.
this cycling venture is by McLaren Applied Technologies and their human performance team (which also helped the athletes at the Olympics) which have nothing to do with the designing running of the F1 car.

The phone will be just a marketing gimmick sorted by the marketing department. They're not exactly going to take the F1 engineers aside from the 2019 car development to assemble all those special phones in a side room at he technology centre...

It's the same as when you see people whinging about F1 on the Automotive facebook page.

It's like saying the virgin racing team failed because they spent too much time flying their 747s. Wrong place/wrong people, people like to just attack without even checking the facts or reading more than just the headline. very annoying.

(oh dear, I think I have probably just bitten to a troll post)

It wasn't meant as a troll post. McLaren as an overall entity have seriously lost their way with assorted diversions (road cars, racing in America etc) & as as result have built a car so bad it was only beaten to the back of the grid by the utter dross that is the Williams. Even a former WC couldn't drag the dog of a car anywhere near the middle of the field. Winning requires concentration from every member of the company from the board downwards.

Mercedes don't piss about sponsoring phones they just focus on the job & polish their WCC & WDC trophies.

[FourWheelDrift]

Mr Pointy said:

Mercedes don't piss about sponsoring phones they just focus on the job & polish their WCC & WDC trophies.

Mercedes puts it's name to many more things than McLaren does. And that's all it is, partnerships and name branding, nothing that effects building F1 cars.

[Kraken]

Mr Pointy said:

t wasn't meant as a troll post. McLaren as an overall entity have seriously lost their way with assorted diversions (road cars, racing in America etc) & as as result have built a car so bad it was only beaten to the back of the grid by the utter dross that is the Williams. Even a former WC couldn't drag the dog of a car anywhere near the middle of the field. Winning requires concentration from every member of the company from the board downwards.

Mercedes don't piss about sponsoring phones they just focus on the job & polish their WCC & WDC trophies.

Mercedes and McLaren are totally different businesses.

You're adding 2 and 2 and coming up with 5. Where is the undisputed proof that the car this year was rubbish purely because of the different divisions that operate under the McLaren name?

Are you seriously implying that because someone in the division that designs batteries for the Formula E series wasn't pulling their weight the aerodynamics on the F1 car went to pieces?

There are many varied reasons which could explain why the car was crap (read Adrian Neweys book for many simple explanations of situations like this) many of which are absolutely nothing to do with the efforts of 99% of the staff at McLaren.

[Buzz84]

Mr Pointy said:

t wasn't meant as a troll post. McLaren as an overall entity have seriously lost their way with assorted diversions (road cars, racing in America etc) & as as result have built a car so bad it was only beaten to the back of the grid by the utter dross that is the Williams. Even a former WC couldn't drag the dog of a car anywhere near the middle of the field. Winning requires concentration from every member of the company from the board downwards.

Mercedes don't piss about sponsoring phones they just focus on the job & polish their WCC & WDC trophies.

Well under that logic, think of how much better Mercedes would have been if they hadn't spent all that time developing the new A class and focused on the F1 car, they could have had the drivers championship sewn up a lot sooner than the 19th race of the year. Only two races left was cutting it fine!

[F1GTRUeno]

It is interesting to note that when they developed the first road car, the F1, the racing team went to ste.

Similarly since the new cars have come in, they've gone to ste.

It's nothing more than a coincidence because they're separate entities but still...

[TobyTR]

It is interesting to look back and see that, more often than not, the teams that have diversified into other areas have declined soon after, but is this as a result of losing sole factory/works backing too? And trying to make up for the shortfall/deficit by diversifying into other markets?

As another poster pointed out, McLaren went downhill significantly after losing Mercedes sole backing. Same when Williams lost Renault power at the end of '97 and then again at the end of 2005 when they lost BMW factory backing.

Off the top of my head, the only recent success I can think of was when David Richards and Prodrive took over the running of BAR-Honda going into 2003, when Prodrive were already flat-out running the Subaru World Rally Team and their Le Mans campaigns. I still think that was probably David Richard's greatest achievement getting BAR-Honda to finish 2nd in the Constructor's Championship (only to the mighty Ferrari F2004) barely two years after taking over as Team Principal. But then again BAR had Honda's sole focus at that time. Still, it looked like a very well-run operation from 2003-2005.

[Kraken]

What is McLarens aim? To be a profitable business or F1 world champions? Ideally both but I bet the priority for the workers and shareholders is the former.

[Fortitude]

Mr Pointy said:

Nice to see McLaren are keeping focused on building a not-ste car:

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/oneplus-6t-mcla...
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2018/12/11/mcl...

Well, here is an update;

James Key will be the "father" of McLaren's 2020 car, team boss Zak Brown has confirmed.
Ryan Wood 20 December 2018.

Key signed a deal to join McLaren last year as their technical director, but the Briton's start date was in question as current employer Toro Rosso still had a lengthy contract with Key which Red Bull refused to terminate early.

That threatened to derail McLaren's plans, however following months of dialogue between the three parties, Red Bull agreed to let Key start at McLaren for the 2019 season, but this will of course be far too late to have an impact on the MCL34, which will be led by Pat Fry, who returned to McLaren earlier this year.

"We’ve brought in Gil de Ferran, who brings an unusual mix of a racer’s instinct with strategic acumen, promoted Andrea Stella to lead our performance development and analysis group, brought back Pat Fry as engineering director to lead the design of the MCL34, and of course appointed James Key as our technical director to give us the singular technical leadership that has been missing," Brown said of McLaren's rebuilding process.

"Beyond these high-profile appointments, we have sought to put the right talent in the right places within the organisation, to make us more nimble and streamline our technical culture. These changes are part of a constantly-evolving performance recovery plan.

"Formula 1 is a dynamic, not static, environment, so I expect further developments over the coming months."

Although Key won't have much of a say in the initial development stages of the MCL34, his impact will be felt throughout the season, though Brown made it clear his focus will be on the MCL35.

"Pat Fry, who we’ve won many races and championships with, re-joined us during 2018, to lead and co-ordinate the design and delivery of the MCL34.
"It’s still a work in progress to complete the leadership structure for our Formula 1 business. However, I’m excited that James will be starting in time not to influence the 2019 car on its debut, but certainly to help its progression over the course of the season, and most importantly have him be the ‘father’ of the MCL35."

Next season will see a raft of changes to the cars to increase overtaking, including simplified front and rear-wings, before a major overhaul of the regulations will be introduced in 2021.

https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/21052

The comments section, seen in the above link, 'pulls no punches'...

[Kraken]

Usual muppets in those comments who basically want to make F1 a spec series when several spec open wheel series already exist.

[MartG]

Kraken said:

Usual muppets in those comments who basically want to make F1 a spec series when several spec open wheel series already exist.

Agreed

Even the use of spec components, while it may reduce cost also limits innovation

As the rules have become ever more restrictive all the cars have become more and more alike in appearance - long gone is the bewildering array of totally different looking cars seen in earlier periods e.g. the pic below



I'd far rather see regulation reduced to a minimum - fit in an x size box, max/min weight, pass a crash test, and given 5000 MJ of energy for the race in whatever form the team likes ( approx equivalent to 110 litres of petrol )

[Dermot O'Logical]

I've worked out what's going on.

McLaren produce a huge amount of hot air over the winter, and in the run-up to a new season. I think they've found a way to capture this, and convert it into electricity.

On the evidence of the foregoing, and the pronouncements of previous seasons, they must be able to power their entire operation, and the nearby town of Woking.

McLaren must be the most eco-friendly organisation on the planet.

[Fortitude]

Dermot O'Logical said:

McLaren must be the most eco-friendly organisation on the planet.

...as well as the McLaren F1 cars 'cruising round' race tracks, close to the back of the grid, must surely mean McLaren are more fuel efficient...

[FourWheelDrift]

Red Bull were the most eco-team in F1 this year, with Torro Rosso by nature of their 12 race retirements. (edited to add more, 2 for Hartley and 1 more for Verstappen stopping late on in a race and still counted as a finish)

[thegreenhell]

McLaren are cautiously optimistic about next season. Where've we heard that before...

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opinion/f1/mph-...

[Mark-C]

thegreenhell said:

McLaren are cautiously optimistic about next season. Where've we heard that before...

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opinion/f1/mph-...

I think "cautiously" has been missing in the past!

[Graveworm]

thegreenhell said:

McLaren are cautiously optimistic about next season. Where've we heard that before...

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/opinion/f1/mph-...

"Optimistic" is great language to direct at shareholders and investors. It is not a commitment or even an estimate of doing anything but sounds upbeat and positive. Optimism could mean anything from WCC and WDC to still being on the grid after the first few races, depending on your underlying mood..

[turbomoped]

Its become the most fun you can have to batter Mclaren lately but in reality they are one of the
more useful teams on the grid.
They produce their own sports cars and technology for other customers as well as a race team.
So every year there is something of value going on.
Were they just a race team and didn't win the title you can argue its just pointless endevour.
If all you are interested in or aware of is the 2 hrs on sunday then its easy to scoff.

[Fortitude]

turbomoped said:

Its become the most fun you can have to batter Mclaren lately but in reality they are one of the
more useful teams on the grid.
They produce their own sports cars and technology for other customers as well as a race team.
So every year there is something of value going on.
Were they just a race team and didn't win the title you can argue its just pointless endevour.
If all you are interested in or aware of is the 2 hrs on sunday then its easy to scoff.

I genuinely want to see McLaren doing well next year. I also wanted McLaren to do well in the last few season too.

However, when you read articles like this, surely that represents BIG problems with McLaren?

Communication Honda's big F1 change with Toro Rosso after McLaren
By Lewis Duncan, Scott Mitchell
@ScottAutosport
Published on Friday December 21st 2018

Honda Formula 1 boss Masashi Yamamoto says the manufacturer's "biggest change" in 2018 with Toro Rosso compared to its McLaren partnership was "much better communication".

The Japanese company returned to F1 in 2015 as sole engine supplier to McLaren, but a troubled and acrimonious tenure led to the pair parting ways at the end of '17.

Honda joined forces with Toro Rosso for this season and the new partnership ended the campaign eighth in the constructors' table with 33 points, three more than Honda managed with McLaren the previous season.

"The biggest change to Toro Rosso [compared with McLaren] is we had much better communication with the team compared to the past," Yamamoto told Autosport.

"As a result of that we had better connection between the chassis and power unit on the technical side.

"In terms of the engine itself we were able to see the improvement of reliability and performance.

"We had Spec 2 and Spec 3 and improved the performance gradually. It was a good preparation for next year.

"We had some troubles at the beginning of the year, reliability issues, and some delay on development but in the end both reliability and performance improved."

Next year Honda will replace Renault as Red Bull's engine supplier, as well as continuing as Toro Rosso's power unit partner.

Yamamoto believes the engine update brought for the Canadian Grand Prix showed Honda could make significant steps forward and was enough to gain Red Bull's "trust".

When asked if the rapid rebuilding of Honda's reputation in '18 was a surprise, he said: "This is not really a big surprise.

"The key point was the race performance in Canada. We were able to prove we could step forward to a certain level and were able to get trust from Red Bull.

"After that, we were able to continue in that environment. Red Bull was also seeing that.

"I think the relationship is quite stable and good, and we are getting that trust. "I'm excited and looking forward to next year.

"So if we can accomplish or complete our programme for next year on schedule, we can have a good relationship and results with Red Bull."


https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/140771/honda-com...