McLaren: could one of F1's top teams struggle for years? BBC Sport - McLaren: could one of F1's top teams struggle for years? 200hp deficit compared to Mercedes?
McLaren not only has a HP deficit but a questionable chassis BUT one thing I have learned over my decades of F1 fandom is that McLaren can bounce back quicker than the blink of an eye. The Honda engine could soon be the "go to" power unit.
The problem is expectations were far too high on Honda. In the last turbo era they had a neat cheat on boost. Unsophisticated testing meant they got away with it. It's relatively easy to be fastest when you're running more boost.
Disappointing. The reality is we don't know how far away McLaren are because the engine is so far off full power. I hope the sort out the problems with reliability soon. The good news is that any engine changes designed to improve reliability can be made without spending tokens.
Correct. The point is that Honda has deep pockets and they will either scrap their involvement (pay out and get out) or make serious progress. Time will tell but I am happy they are back in a nostalgic point of view. Bob Dylan anecdote?
Honda must surely be gutted watching what Ross Brawn and Mercedes have achieved with the team they abandoned in a hurry ! Now they have to restart all over again, in hope they can repeat the happy years they have with McLaren in the past.
McLaren had the best engine power unit for years (Mercedes), and completely failed to make the best use of it. They last won the drivers Championship in 2008 - Some 6 years ago. They last won the Constructors Championship in 1998! - That's 16 years ago! If you think that's anywhere near "The blink of an eye" then you need to learn to blink faster! And by the same token, it could end up like their last F1 engine and be a complete load of rubbish! Based on their current performance and reliability, it's not looking too good for them to be the " "go to" power unit". Okay, we've only had one race so far and it's very early days, however, they had to wind the engine power down to something around 50% of it's full potential, which resulted in one car getting to the finish line having been lapped - TWICE!, and the other car, even with only 50% power couldn't even get round to the grid, never mind the warm-up lap! As things stand right now, one of the few things McLaren can be happy about is that their exclusive use of Honda power is looking pretty safe for some time to come!
You guys jump on the gun too fast! It's too early and too soon to judge. Let's give McLaren the benefit of a doubt. Like someone else said before, this team can quickly bounce back. I don't know about the "to go engine" but very competitive. It's only the beginning of the season. I foresee that we will see a lot of surprising changes not only for MacLaren but for all other teams. One thing is for sure, this year is going to be more exciting than last year. Even if Mercedes take the lead (which it will anyway), it will be very competitive and interesting season for everybody else behind.
I think this season will be an incredibly steep and difficult learning curve for Honda at the back of the grid (mostly). After the break at Jerez and the start of next season we will really see what they have as they would be closing in on two and half to three years of these new hybrid engines being constructed and tested by their best and brightest. One could make a case that Mercedes had two years building and testing before they made a gem of an engine, albeit an unreliable one at times. Ferrari look to have made a decent one after three years of testing and building by their team. Renault's last year was good at times, but far from great and they seem to have gone backwards with them this season. I think it will be a humbling season for Honda and Mclaren in many ways. Who knows what they will learn from it.
Mclaren overall have not run the motor for very long. They have been upfront about the early races, pre Europe, as not being strong for them. Very much additional testing along with the racing. I hope they can gain worthy data with these early races and bring this PU up to spec and challenge for the podium. Im pleased they are back given the current atmosphere of failing races and teams. We should all be pleased frankly. They need to be a success as F1 needs it.
We're one race in and they had the wick turned way down, so it's a bit premature to make any predictions. Making the finish was a pretty important step.
What was the business rationale of Honda getting back into F1 in the first place? If it was for marketing purposes, it's pretty disastrous so far and ill-timed with this year's launch of the NSX. Hopefully that's not the case by the end of the season.
I remember everyone saying last years f1 cars were hardly any faster than gp2 cars at the beginning of the season. By the end they had developed massively. I think the same will be true of the McLaren Honda cars. We shall see...
Here's another question. Perhaps a good pole question. Would Honda have been better off partnering with a different team????? Williams?
They weren't much faster than the gp2's at the end of the year either. A lot of the relative performance gains were down to tires differences and track resurfacing. I'm just saying.....
No - They have the best available partner IMO Wait till euro season if they are still down by 3 secs to Merc Then they are done for the season If within 2 secs then they may score a podium by the end of 2015 thats my prediction
I not surprised that McHonda are struggling but was really surprised at Renault not improving on pace with Ferrari let alone Merc.
Williams are relying pretty heavily on the Mercedes engine, though are a pretty good best of the rest amongst Mercedes engine runners. Should be a good fight with Ferrari this year. I think if they had the Honda engine, they wouldn't have the same capability to help develop it as McLaren do. I think McLaren even started making their own seals for the engines after Honda's seals were failing in pre-season practice. While it sucks to have McLaren so poorly performing at the moment, they're the team you want for giving the Honda power unit the most development and greatest chance for improvement over the season. I do wonder when McLaren will make it back to the pointy end of the grid again. Some of the races I've most enjoyed watching in the past have been when the Ferraris and McLarens were fighting one another for podium positions and race victories. All the best, Andrew.
I think McLaren-Honda will bounce back. And when they do it won't be about being the best of the rest, it'll be about beating Mercedes. It's definitely all or nothing this go around. Question is, when will that happen? This year might be a write off based on Jenson's, Ron's and Boullier's feedback.
The epic Ferrari vs. McLaren battles of old may be on some distant horizon in F1. It would be cool and F1 popularity would certainly peak again.
+1 Those battles were great and remind us F1 "old timers" of what could happen once again. Personally I do not like to see McLaren struggling so much and I would like it if Jenson went out battling for a WCC.
I hope you are right. Honda nor McLaren should be taken lightly and I am glad Honda has returned to F1, good for the sport in my opinion.
