Is it Sam Michael or Whitmarsh? Or is it someone else entirely? I only ask because after today surely someone has to take stock of the fact that both their qualifying and race-day strategies are consistently failing them. They may not have the fastest car any more but they were beaten easily by Red Bull, Ferrari and Lotus today, while Button struggled around Williamses and Saubers.
I guess the problem stems from the cars being slower than their rivals, which means they then have to look at abstract strategies to try and make gains which do then not come off because of the car's deficiencies. I think even if Button had qualified higher up the grid he wouldn't have achieved much more, if anything, than he did today.
All season they have looked lost.... time has run out for management. Who needs to be put on gardening leave?
McLaren just need to be aggressive with their development because theyre getting eaten alive by everyone down to Sauber and Williams. Change rear end of the car because thats where the big chunks of time can be found as all the teams have showed. The update for Germany is their last chance! Possibly Spa for Lewis. Pit stops today were perfect, but its funny that they get it right when it doesnt matter, but when theyre challenging for podiums and wins the mistakes happen.
Mclaren are always aggresive with development, Maybe its too aggresive and thats why they are falling. Sometimes the simple things are affective. I.e Stepped nose, Front jack, tyre strategy.
Sam Michael is the newly appointed Sporting Director. He works in conjunction with the driver's race engineers, who may make decisions based on interaction with their respective drivers; but yes, Sam Michael ultimately oversees strategy. Team Principal, Whitmarsh has nothing to do with strategic decisions during the race itself. Prior to appointing Sam Michael, this was left to each driver/engineer partnership; but it became evident that McLaren needed someone to oversee both sides of the garage, just as all other teams have traditionally done. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it in this forum yet but I have reservations about Sam Michael. However, I should declare that this may involve some personal bias, since I am not particularly fond of him. Having said that, McLaren's Silverstone pit stops were incredible. It is clear that the car is falling back to the midfield: simply not fast enough. The upgrades for Hockenheim need to be successful immediately. For the sake of the team, I hope Tuesday's meeting will be very productive.
I can't figure if they are 4th or 5th fastest now... Did that ever happen under Dennis?! All I remember is that the cars he had were often fast but unreliable... Whitmarsh just seems clown-like to me... Maybe his voice is just against him! Think it goes: 1. Red Bull 2. Ferrari (close) 3. Renault 4. Mercedes + McLaren I think it's interesting that Mercedes and Mclaren have fallen back, maybe they have the same issues with the mercedes engine/gearbox design with regards getting maximum down-force capabilities?
Good point there JPF, maybe there is another the part of the season they can capitalise on, Monza? Spa? Hockenheimring...works on 7th gear more (more straights), so maybe their time to shine is elsewhere. There are issues in downforce you are right.
Yeah it'll be very interesting indeed. It's worrying for them that they've just gone from a low-speed track to a high speed one and been pretty much hammered on both, but maybe the straights will help them as you say. I don't really tend to keep myself up to date with the latest improvements, but I think they both have updates for the next Grand Prix don't they? They need to pull something out of the bag
Theyre problems lay with not having a high chasis and full on steeped nose allowing more aero improvements to the car. They were fast at the start of the season because of the rear of the car and the exhaust position. However now everyone has copied this theyre advantage in this area has been neutralised. Lets see what they bring to Germany.
In fairness the fast yet unreliable car was the result of a certain Adrian Newey, who left Mclaren in 2007 I believe.
When McLaren have made good strategy choices, their pit-crews or pit-stops have cost them points and places. If it was not for them, Lewis maybe would be sitting top of the pile? Maybe Jenson's season would be different if he had picked up that victory in China? who knows.
Isn't it funny that the whole time he was at Williams they seemed to slip further down the grid, now he's left they are improving leaps and bounds and Mclaren appear to have gone the opposite direction. Now i'm not to say that this is all down to Sam, but....
Yes, that's an interesting observation, McBrianav. As I've said already, I'm probably biased; but I believe McLaren would be better off without him.
I think Mclare really ballsed up again today. Although abit of a lottery in respect in being on the track at its best and making as few mistakes as possible, neither Jenson or Lewis were really given this opportunity. Lewis wasn't given a fresh set of tyres and although Jenson was he only got the 1 lap in rather than the 2 or 3 that Alonso did, crossing the finish line with 6 seconds for his final flyer. On the flip side the RB's didnt pit yet they managed to get a time near enough 3 seconds quicker than the Mclarens! Given that the Mclaren drivers were close on times, and neither are poor wet weather drivers, there must be a fundemental flaw in theat car. I dont think it just down to tyre temp, I also think it down to how stiff the car is set up, something that is counter productive in these conditions. My understanding is that you soften the car settings which is the opposite of the Mclaren?
Amazed how bad McLaren is in the wet, they used to be up there at the sharp end more than most teams in previous years.
Agreed, personally both Hamilton and Button and excellent drivers in wet weather, but every time it has been wet this year McLaren have been well off the pace, tommorow will be all about damage limitation for them. Also it is easy with hindsight for people to say their strategy today was wrong, in these situations it is not always easy for teams to make the right decisions
I didnt understand McLarens Q3 strategy at all. Hamilton was in the pits before Alonso finished his last lap
Yeah, it was odd. I presumed he must have abandoned his last lap knowing it was no good but not having another chance. But I don't really know
