Midfield McLaren

Toasters for everyone.

 

Here ya go.... Directly from Pee Wee's design department. Note the extensive use of "the strongest carbon fibre in the world" and some nice modeling S/W - About all they ever used it for IIRC.

Cheers,
Ian
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The saddest words of tongue or pen are these "it might have been"

Apologies to Whittier.

 

McLaren always go backwards when they put too much energy into their road cars ...

Pete

 

While that certainly seems true, I'm not sure there's any real correlation between the two.

They're a pretty big "corporation" these days and I'm sure the race team is completely separate to any of the other divisions.

I'm gonna stick with "coincidence" rather than loss of focus.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Fair enough. It does make you wonder if Ron Dennis is still required to be there to ensure they all work as proper McLaren employees ... this is not a good sign. Is Whitmarsh up to the job?
Pete

 

I agree that probably there is not correlation between F1 and the road cars, just a coincidence. Also Ron Dennis is not the boss of the road cars division anymore.

I suppose it`s just one of those "end of cycle" things. If Honda throws enough money and threaten to quit if they don´t win like Mercedes, they´ll be fine.

 

I missed a lot of races last year, but the bottom line was that Hamilton ended with 2 more points than Button, so I don't see the half second per lap difference in the same car over an entire season.

 

They could start by putting the tires on the correct side of the car.....
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Hilarious

 

Lewis had much worse luck than Button. The fact that he had five full DNF's and still managed to put up more points than Button speaks volumes.

 

Even though I know an F1 car is more technical than I will fully understand, the fact that there is a right and wrong side for a treadless slick tire baffles me.

 

Jensen is a rather smoother driver. He puts less stress on the car. That may mean he's a bit slower but is more likely to finish.

Has to do with what's under the tread. The construction can be asymmetric even if the tread isn't.

 

Perhaps Hamilton departed because he saw it coming as well. Overall I think McLaren is due to bounce back in 2014, but they don't have a star car (red bull) or a star driver (alonso or hamilton) to give them a winning chance. Aside from being able to drive a car beyond its limits, fernando and lewis appear to be able to develop the team and the car around them both preseason and during the season.

Button is certainly a talented driver, but he became champion IMO by being at the right place at the right time.

 

I know he has a different style, but at the end of the day I don't think he's half as valuable as Lewis was as far as developing a car and fighting for points. More likely to finish equates to a great #2 driver, but not a champion IMO.

Yeah I understand that they are/can be different but it just seems like a waste, especially considering everyone is running the same tires and there's no advantage to be had by an asymmetric design. To me the tires seem like they should be the simplest part of the car since there is only one supplier and since they are so crucial.

 

Unlike what other champion?
Luck has a lot more to do with success than most are keen to admit.

Ever hear the one about the tortoise and the hare?

Some seasons, some teams and some cars favor one approach or the other.

 

Good point. However I feel like Schumi, Lewis, Kimi, Fernando, and even Vettel "earned" it a little more. Button appeared (IMO) to have been handed his championship by being given a dominant car at the beginning of the season. Schumi and Vettel certainly had dominant cars, but I think they were a little more instrumental, for what that's worth.

Yeah yeah. . . but in 2012 the hare (lewis) finished with 2 more points than the tortoise (jenson). And it's much more exciting to watch the hare.

 

Hence all those "somes".

 

Vettel has been handed his championships too IMNSHO. That Redbull has certainly been the dominant car the last 3 years. Jenson finished second to him a couple years ago with a lesser car. Alonso finished 2nd to Vettel last year with what started as a dog of a car, and even towards the end of the season, the Ferrari was still like half a second slower. Given equal cars. Alonso, Raikkonen, Hamilton, and even Button, would beat Vettel.

 

I give him more credit these days, especially with his typical qualifying performance vs Webber, but I think you're probably right.

I fully agree, without a doubt.

 

Both you and the rebel are nuts....

Italy 2008...read all about it.

Vettel is one of the best past or present.

Hope his car dies the same way as it did in Britain this weekend......

 

Seb is no where as bad as some think.

And no where so good as he thinks.

The only undebatable facts are his wins and his championships. Others might have been able to do the same but they didn't.

 

Love him or hate him you cannot deny his talent, and off track he appears a clever and funny guy.

 

On track talent can be hard to compare, but given what I've seen of him off track, there's no one as focused, as driven, as he is. At this level its not so much the raw talent (many have it) that wins championships, as it is focus.