Should Martin Whitmarsh step down?

[CaptainRaiden]

Rumors are already coming in that he's gonna get the boot:

Whitmarsh won't walk away | Planet F1 | Formula One News (http://www.planet-f1.com/news/3213/8708046/Whitmarsh-Won-t-Walk-Away)


Whitmarsh won't walk away

Martin Whitmarsh will not resign as McLaren's team principal despite their current woes.

Instead of challenging for podium finishes and race victories, McLaren are fighting for points this season as their MP4-28 has lacked the pace of the frontrunners.

And although the team had hoped to close the gap in Spain where they brought various updates, any progress McLaren made was negated by their rivals' steps forward.

The team's woes have also led to rumours that former team boss Ron Dennis could return to the role in a bid to turn their ailing fortunes around.

Whitmarsh, though, has downplayed the reports.

"I don't believe it's been considered at board level at the moment, as far as I know," he told Reuters.

"I believe in the team, I believe we are going to power through this.

"So no, I am not considering anything other than getting this team back to where it belongs."

He added: "I've been around in the sport for a long time, [and] I think I've sat here in difficult, dark moments and sat here in good moments as well.

"I am sure we are going to win some more races and we're going to work hard to do that this year."

[steveaki13]

I think Mclaren could need to move on because at the moment they are not consistantly making championship winning cars and are not as radical as they to be

[Ranger]

No - He should not step down.

[AndyL]

I'm confused. What's the rumour now - that Ron Dennis is getting the boot, or that Martin Whitmarsh is getting the boot and Ron Dennis is taking his job?

[Knock-on]

The problem with all these boots is that it's cobblers :D

[henners88]

No he shouldn't stand down, absolutely not.

[The Black Knight]

I don't see what is happening at McLaren as entirely being Whitmarsh's fault. He surely has to claim some burden of responsibility but it wasn't his decision to go with a this radical approach. It is true though that with the resources McLaren have they should be doing a lot better and their overall performance over the last couple of years has not been good enough for a team of their stature. Alonso is right when he says that they haven't won a constructors championship since 1998 despite sometimes having the best car. It pinpoints to me as something that is a longstanding issue at McLaren and one they need to get on top of as they are becoming the nearly men of F1 but to lay blame at Whitmarsh's feet is all too easy. These issues existed long before he became team principal. It is, however, up to him to sort it out and he hasn't been able to do that so far. They can forget the championship this year, it's not going to happen but they need a change in philosophy or approach as they are just an embarrassment right now.

[zako85]

This is a lame duck car with a lame duck engine. Since McLaren is not fighting for the title, not even for race wins, they will soon abandon the 2013 car and start working on 14 car IMHO.

[Firstgear]

They've only got about the 5th best driver pairing (maybe 7th if the car doesn't exactly suit Button) this year, so they won't be winning often, if at all. That's where I'd point my finger. Well that, along with tossing a good car and chancing a clean slate in the year before a big regulation change.

[MAX_THRUST]

NO

[steveaki13]

This is a lame duck car with a lame duck engine. Since McLaren is not fighting for the title, not even for race wins, they will soon abandon the 2013 car and start working on 14 car IMHO.

This could be an option, as its a big year for development given the engine changes, so it would be a good year to get a head start.

[MrJan]

No.

[i_max2k2]

No, I think he is a fairly balanced Team principal, I'd honestly put him up there with the best. The aero teams failure should not be credited as his own, however being the principal he'll have to share part of the blame.

[dj_bytedisaster]

As the principal you always share some of the blame if your organization fails to reach its goal, but I'm not sure his dismissal would rectify the problems. There are plenty of problems at McLaren and not all are his faults. For starters for as long as I can remember McLaren hasn't got a top driver this year. Button is solid and dependable, but he isn't one who can make a difference. Checo is too inconsistent and prone to errors.
If there is someone who should be sacked it is whoever decided to ditch what effectively was the best car last season and go for a risky cleansheet design in a transition year.

[Koz]

What The Black Knight said.

McLaren over the past few years have been no different than they have for the last 20. They have been the #2 team in F1, consistently. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

Even last year, their performance was great. A championship winning performance, in a fragile car - which is what happened to Kimi. They won the constructors championship in 2007*.
They were competitive enough in 2010. Second in WCC.
2011, second in both WCC and WDC.
2012, third in the WCC and if not let down by reliability, could have had the WDC.

This year, they're not doing well. But there is still plenty of time to recover to something respectable, similar to 2009, maybe a win or two in the right circumstances.

So lets roar at Ferrari and ask for Luca and Stefano's resignations please, because overall they have been as bad or worse in recent years.


Also, McLaren have the weakest lineup in over 33 years. So lets not get ahead of ourselves as to how the car should be performing.

[dj_bytedisaster]

Koz, some of the things you described are due to poor decisions by McLaren though. They handed Kimi the title in 2007 by letting their drivers run roughshod over each other. And the fact that they have the weakest driver lineup since the Romans left isn't some sort of tragedy that befell them out of the blue. It's a direct consequence of their own decision.

Poor reliability isn't the only thing that cost them the title last year. They've wasted a lot of points by completely disastrous pitcrew performances.

So a lot of blame goes to McLaren management, but I think it doesn't yet warrant a sacking of Whitmarsh as he didn't make all the poor decisions on his own.

[MAX_THRUST]

Intersting to see if Honda wants him to stay or if they want ROn back.

[henners88]

Intersting to see if Honda wants him to stay or if they want ROn back.
Unless they are buying a majority share in McLaren, I don't see how they would have any choice. If they are purely an engine supplier, it will be up to the team and their board of directors who is in charge. I think Ron is enjoying a slower pace of life judging by him stepping down recently.