I consider McLaren's involcement in Indycar an unnecessary distraction from F1. What interest is there for them to compete in a specs series with a Dallara car? I cannot see it. Zak Brown took McLaren on a different path; I am wondering where this is going.
Same thing could then be said about Ferrari and their WEC involvement. I personally don't see it as an issue, especially in Mclaren's case. The Indy team is based in the USA, while the F1 team is in the UK. I think Zak Brown is deliberately targeting the American market, making the McLaren brand more and more known in the USA. McLaren winning Indy would be a huge headline. Not only does this help attract new sponsors, such as Google, but it is a very smart plan consider Liberty Media's desire to push F1 all over the United States. It all probably does not hurt their road car sales either. I'm failing to see where there is a downside anywhere with McLaren under Zak Brown.
Ferrari's involvement in the WEC came out of the budget cap in F1. Ferrari had to spend its "surplus" budget; there is also a lot of history in endurance for Ferrari already. For a brand, I don't see the point of getting in a specs series; who ever wins at Indy it will be Dallara, not McLaren. Everybody knows that Indycar is a team championship, not a constructor one.
I felt the same way when Renault team changed to Lotus, and Alpine, and whoever else. Or when Infinity puts their name on the Red Bulls. It's all PR - Marketing nonsense. There is likely very very little technological benefit from Indy, but if the marketing side of things bring money and sponsors to the team. Then Zak is doing something right.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/why-everyone-wants-to-be-part-of-mclarens-f1-rebuild/10460306/ Why "everyone wants to be part" of McLaren's F1 rebuild Alongside major infrastructure projects, McLaren has gone on a large recruiting spree to get back to the front of Formula 1. Here is why rival engineers "want to be part" of its plans. By:Filip Cleeren Apr 25, 2023 at 10:12 AM Image Unavailable, Please Login Whether you want to call McLaren a fallen giant or a just sleeping one, it has to be said CEO Zak Brown and new team principal Andrea Stella are leaving no stone unturned to wake it back up. After noticing his team was falling behind on development through 2022, Brown gave Stella the remit to come up with a new technical structure, replacing technical director James Key and empowering a triumvirate of Neil Houldey, Peter Prodromou and Ferrari returnee David Sanchez to man the key battle stations in engineering and design, aerodynamics and car concept. Their respective technical teams are being bolstered, too, with Motorsport.com reporting earlier that deals have been made with 15 engineers, some who have joined already and some who are serving gardening leave like Sanchez. Among those joining is long-time aero expert Mariano Alperin, who joins from Aston Martin, and more staff from top teams Ferrari and Red Bull. While McLaren remains tight-lipped on the identity of its reinforcements, it is clear that its recruitment has been aggressive and that it appears to be successful in convincing top talent to join. "In our interviews McLaren has always come across like a very exciting prospect for the people we have interviewed, and everyone understands the ambition we have," Stella said when Autosport asked him in Australia about the challenge of attracting rival talent. "Everyone understands that if we turn the situation around that McLaren, we are making history, and everyone wants to be part of it, so I wouldn't say that attracting talent has been complicated. "The effect of the change of model is too recent to actually affect the process of recruitment. Let me just add that the way we have approached the recruitment overall is part of this philosophy of our performance-led organisation. "And even the way you recruit people you think about performance, which means we are aggressive from this point of view, as required to compete in Formula 1." A major asset in McLaren's recruitment pitch is fresh investment behind the scenes, which has allowed it to finally upgrade its ageing facilities after a pandemic-enforced delay. In the Ron Dennis era, Woking's McLaren Technology Centre was the envy of the F1 world, a futuristic temple featuring the latest equipment and technology. But if you wait long enough even the future becomes the past. Many of the MTC's crown jewels have since become dated and its wind tunnel obsolete, relying on a suboptimal deal to truck parts to Toyota's tunnel in Cologne. But the new wind tunnel has finally completed, coming on stream in June after the necessary calibration work. Its new simulator and manufacturing unit will follow later this year. Brown didn't want McLaren's infrastructure deficit to become a tired excuse. After all, the desire to unleash more performance out of team's existing resources is what prompted its technical reshuffle. But it is clear that the new facilities leave McLaren in a much better position to compete. Not just on the track, but also on the job market. McLaren appears to be a project people want to be a part of. An enticing engineering challenge. "No one doubts our shareholders' commitment or our board's commitment to getting back to the front," Brown said. "Finally, a lot of the infrastructure that we've been speaking about for years, our wind tunnel is just about ready to come online. A new manufacturing unit with all new state of the art manufacturing equipment. You can walk in it, you can see the buildings, and a lot of other infrastructure. "But we were quite far behind on that, we invested in that, and we then got stalled during COVID on progressing some of that. "We have all the resources we need. We're highly motivated. And we've got a lot of people that have joined us and a lot of people that are in the process of joining us. "Now that Andrea has put the model in place, we're not done turbocharging that model. "We're just getting started."
I think those questioning why McLaren are in IndyCar are missing a big point. OK, everyone here knows that Indy car is a spec chassis. First of all, so what? The racing is far better than F1. Secondly, a team, naming rights, etc. are a huge part of brand recognition. Mercedes sponsor tennis and soccer, but they don't make balls or rackets. Next, and this is an important one, even with the success of Drive to survive, I will bet you that 95% of the public, and I'll bet more than 50% who tune in to watch the Indy 500 or Monaco, don't know, and don't care that F1 and Indy are different series. I know car enthusiasts who have several cars, have been to occasional races over the decades, and still don't know the difference without asking. When the cars are on track, you are watching the motion of the vehicles, who's silhouettes are broken up by different color schemes and patterns. Watching a gaggle of cars braking hard into a corner fighting for space, your eyeballs are not differentiating between an aero screen and a halo, they essentially appear the same. Finally, and this is a personal observation based on limited anecdotal evidence, and not meant to insult people, but I think Ferrari has a significant problem in the future. I call it 'the Harley Davidson effect'. Harley, like them or loathe them, make a product that was very very successful for generations, they had particularly strong growth from the late 80's through probably 7-10 years ago by playing to a specific audience. After that their, if not target, but certainly actual audience started to age out. Harleys were once seen as uber cool, now there is a general felling of derision, especially among younger higher income people who view the baby boomer owners as old, out of touch and fundamentally uncool. They've dropped over 25% in sales (by units, not $) in the last 7 years. I have a feeling that, at least in the US, a similar thing is happening with Ferrari. I've noticed that over the last 10 years, owners of new and late model Ferrari's all tend to be in at least their 50's. Now sure, you need to reach a point in life where you're earning enough to justify something like that, but there are a lot of lawyers, doctors, bankers, etc. etc. who are buying high end vehicles in their 30's and 40's. The thing is those younger supercar buyers I see are driving Lamborghini's, McLarens, and GT2/3/turbo 911's. I don't see young people driving Ferrari's. What's going to happen to Ferrari when the current new buyers die off? Again, I'm not trying to upset people, I don't have the figures to back it up, but that's my thoughts based off observations around here, and at places like SEMA and car events I've been to while traveling. It's also only based on the US, I've no observation for other countries. Neither does this apply to older used Ferrari's, just new ones. McLaren, while not only appearing to appeal to younger buyers, are making a huge push in Indycar, and like it or not, the 500 is the biggest race in this country for sure, and still one of the top races globally along with LeMans and Monaco. Ferrari have added WEC to their F1 program, which is where Ferrari had a lot of success in the past. McLaren have added Indycar, a series where they have a winning tradition like Ferrari had in sports cars.
Piastri hopeful for "a moderate step in performance" from his updated MCL60 this weekend. https://www.pitdebrief.com/post/piastri-hopeful-for-a-moderate-step-in-performance-from-his-mcl60
Both McLarens in Q3 for once. Hoping that can translate into a good performance on Sunday. Piastri is learning his trade.
I think the McLaren story for the rest of this season is how Lando will deal with the twin frustrations of a car that, even with this week's gains, is clearly not one of the best, and a teammate who is showing good pace.
Its easy for Piastri - only way is up. Lando is locked into a bad deal and is now no longer new at the game. Any downward trend makes him less valuable as his deal matures.
What a difference a week makes. After this weekend, Baku looks like a "false spring" as the McLarens were nowhere this weekend
I despair with this team; my favourite long time ago when Ron Dennis was at the helm and Prost and Senna driving. . They are on a slippery slope to oblovion, I fear.
I wonder if Ferrari or Mercedes are eyes on Piastri. Certainly I would think. His chances with Mclaren for a title are not so good in the near future. McLaren: Early indications show Piastri is a future F1 world champion Formula 1 rookie Oscar Piastri will be a "future world champion" based on his performances in the early part of 2023, according to his McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown.
McLaren has to improve or they will become a spent force like Williams. I dont think Zak Brown is the man who will lead them to recovery though ...
Not sure I’d want probing lol Piastri: “Sharp” Webber helping probe McLaren F1 engineers Oscar Piastri has praised how hands-on and “sharp” manager Mark Webber has been in Formula 1 this year as he revealed he is even helping out in probing engineers.
When all else fails- hit copy and paste!! McLaren pursuing Red Bull DRS solution with Spa F1 update McLaren appears to be pursuing Red Bull’s powerful DRS concept seen so far this season with the upgrades that it has brought to the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix.
Famous last words? Look how well McLaren is doing, compared to Alpine. I think Piastri is safer where he is now.
I have to eat my words. But this has been the biggest turnaround I've ever seen in modern F1. Let's see what happens when they check their budget.
You are not the only one !!! I was the same; you only have to read by previous posts on this page. How they turned around and became suddenly competitive, I don't know. I expected the worst when Seidl left. Also, what about Piastri ! The best rookie we had for a long time, since Verstappen in fact.
