McLaren loses it again

[tinchote]

Something that maybe got lost in all the turbulence surrounding the last race, is that McLaren has again failed to win a WDC. So now it's the 8th consecutive season with no titles, and they have won only two titles in the last 14 seasons. Not particularly exciting for a top team :mark:

[fandango]

A very good point. It will be interesting to see how their development goes, considering their heavy fine, for next season, too. But you'd have to wonder if their so-called equality policy really works, considering its low result.

[F1MAN2007]

A very good point. It will be interesting to see how their development goes, considering their heavy fine, for next season, too. But you'd have to wonder if their so-called equality policy really works, considering its low result.

Don't forget that their 2008 car still have to be inspected by the FIA following the Spygate!!

[mstillhere]

talking about the McLAren cars. Today, strangely enough LH car had major problems and FA was not able at all to keep up with the two Ferraris. What do you think happened? I thought that on the last race teams would come out with their best cars. Today just the opposite. Your thoughts?

[Simmo666]

Lewis' car was probably tuned up to use all the two-race things for a single week (is that just the engine, or is it the gearbox too? Was it simply proposed for gearbox but not yet implemented?) and so the car as a whole was treated differently to usual. Meanwhile, Alonso's car was on it's second race enginewise, so he wouldn't have been able to push as hard and thus match the Ferrari's. But I think the Ferrari's were just so much better that it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

[markabilly]

Seems things have gotten so competitve that minute differences look gigantic

Watch only today's race and you would have to say that Ferrari dominates mac...but look at other races, and you would have to say Mac dominates ferrari......seems to be very track dependant

On the other hand, clearly Mac's "equality" policy cost them....say what you will, if they had gone with experience instead of potential and "equality", then they would have a wdc right now...probably two races ago

Instead Freddie found himself semi-number two/one---and LH made a big stink at the Monaco and got his way...then we had the pit stop, and another big stink by LH which began when he disobeyed his orders like a spoiled brat, and poppa mouthed off.....Put the pole back to FA and he wins or finishes second

Then today, the story is Mac has a WDC....instead, Freddie gets mad and does his balckmail number...maxie gets the call, and 100 million dollars later.....

Blame Freddie all you want, but it was the actions of LH that started the brouhahaha, first at Monaco and then later about the paddle...leave that out of the picture and Mac has a wdc AND MAYBE the WCC, plus maybe an extra 100 million in its pockets

[mstillhere]

Seems things have gotten so competitve that minute differences look gigantic

Watch only today's race and you would have to say that Ferrari dominates mac...but look at other races, and you would have to say Mac dominates ferrari......seems to be very track dependant

I agree with your view about the performance of the two cars depending on the track they are racing on. It looks like though, over all, there are more tracks "friendly" to the red cars thatn to the silver ones. Are we going to see another "long" Ferrari next year, although I doubt it?

[Hondo]

I think McLaren have been extremely successful this year. It appears to me that they have met all their team goals for the 2007 season. For just about all of 2007 the entire team, collectively, seems to have gone out of their way and done everything they could to shoot themselves in the feet in order to avoid winning any of the championships. Between their documents, other peoples documents, emails, bad strategy calls, driver spats, blackmail threats, tire difficulties, etc., they have done their utmost to avoid the stigma of being called "World Champion".

Although others tried to force the championship upon them, McLaren never gave up the good fight, never lost faith that they could avoid the championship even though it meant going down to the very last race to blow the whole thing. In the end, they got what they worked so hard for and my hats off to them.

[CaptainRaiden]

In my opinion reliability trouble at the very wrong time cost them the title again, as it has done in the past SO many times. Remember, Mika in Indianapolis at 2000, the 2001 season, Kimi in 2003 and 2005? During those years, Mclaren had mechanical failures throughout the season.

However this year, the MP4-22 was bulletproof all season, but screwed up just at the most crucial moment. Of course, I'm not saying it's the car alone. Hamilton cocked it up for himself too, he is not the innocent party here either. All he had to do was be a bit cautious at the pit entrance in Shanghai and be cooler in the first lap at Brazil, and we would have the proverbial superboy rookie champion giving interviews on how he dreamt of this day, in all of the world tabloids by now. :p

Well, in the end, the coolness and monster pace of the Iceman prevailed more than anything else.

[DonnieDarco]

I think Lewis lost the championship and caused the mechanical issues, not the other way around. All he had to do when Alonso got past him was keep cool and stick to him like glue.

Instead, he made a disastrous attempt to get the place back, ran wide and then I think, went postal on the car :D

Maclaren were obviously missing that part out, but it's what ultimately cost him the championship, trying to beat Alonso.

[Ranger]

As a McLaren fan, I think they deservedly lost this one. Hopefully they're still up there next year for an untainted title win. :up:

[markabilly]

I think Lewis lost the championship and caused the mechanical issues, not the other way around. All he had to do when Alonso got past him was keep cool and stick to him like glue.

Instead, he made a disastrous attempt to get the place back, ran wide and then I think, went postal on the car :D

Maclaren were obviously missing that part out, but it's what ultimately cost him the championship, trying to beat Alonso.
my point as well...thos were fast laps at the end from LH until his tires went away most likely...I think the "slowdown" was likely due to his getting the car completely into the wrong gear and then trying not to stall, then shifting around until he figured out what he needed to get going....hardly the fault of the car...

[aryan]

This year is over, and has been over for a while now. There's not much money in the drivers' championship anyway.

It was overall, a positive year for McLaren fans. We found out that our protege is one of the best in the game, we found that Mercedes can make reliable engines if they are rev limited, and we found out that the team is still the same team we enjoyed watching Senna and Prost battle in.

Yes, we lost the WDC, but most McLaren fans still have a soft spot somewhere for kimi, even if he now wearing the devil's suite ;-)

<Frank Sinatra>It was a very good year...</Frank Sinatra>

[Donney]

I'm left with the impression that Mclaren lost the championship instead of Ferrari winning, not that I think Ferrari or Raikkonnen don't deserve it.

Probably their team work and policy is wrong, they seemed unbeatable some months ago and now they have nothing.

[samuratt]

I think that if McLaren are not WDC is just because of Lewis. He only needed four points in the last two races... and he alone screwed it up. Apart form that I think that McLaren got what they deserve: nothing!

It was funny too to see the equality police that Ferrari and Mclaren have used over the seasson. McLaren have been gambilng with these the whola seasson, when Ferrari only needed to move out one of their cars at the last race. Mclaren should learn a lot from Ferrari about this, and not only try to get their secrets...

Congrats to Kimi! :up:

[F1MAN2007]

I think that if McLaren are not WDC is just because of Lewis. He only needed four points in the last two races... and he alone screwed it up. Apart form that I think that McLaren got what they deserve: nothing!

It was funny too to see the equality police that Ferrari and Mclaren have used over the seasson. McLaren have been gambilng with these the whola seasson, when Ferrari only needed to move out one of their cars at the last race. Mclaren should learn a lot from Ferrari about this, and not only try to get their secrets...

Congrats to Kimi! :up:

Totally agree with you.

[tinchote]

I'm left with the impression that Mclaren lost the championship instead of Ferrari winning, not that I think Ferrari or Raikkonnen don't deserve it.

Probably their team work and policy is wrong, they seemed unbeatable some months ago and now they have nothing.


The way I see it, if LH were the champion now, we would have several threads about how the driver with the most wins didn't get it.

Mclaren well and truly blew it. There really can be no excuse for losing to a driver who was 17 points behind with 2 races left. No excuses at all.

[wedge]

Ferrari and McLaren have done nothing wrong in terms of driver equality.

McLaren and LH messed up and threw away their hopes over the last couple of races and that transmission failure or whatever it was didn't help things either. It seems almost quite literally they pressed the 'self-destruct button'!


talking about the McLAren cars. Today, strangely enough LH car had major problems and FA was not able at all to keep up with the two Ferraris. What do you think happened? I thought that on the last race teams would come out with their best cars. Today just the opposite. Your thoughts?

Everyone thought on paper it was going to be a McLaren track but they suffered with too much graining.

The McLaren are very hard on their tyres which is why they're competitive in qualy but not necessarily the race, whereas Ferrari's are a lot 'kinder' to their tyres, hence Massa and Kimi have complained about their 1-lap performance and therefore the Ferraris are less likely to grain.

[Tazio]

Ferrari and McLaren have done nothing wrong in terms of driver equality.

McLaren and LH messed up and threw away their hopes over the last couple of races and that transmission failure or whatever it was didn't help things either. It seems almost quite literally they pressed the 'self-destruct button'!



Everyone thought on paper it was going to be a McLaren track but they suffered with too much graining.

The McLaren are very hard on their tyres which is why they're competitive in qualy but not necessarily the race, whereas Ferrari's are a lot 'kinder' to their tyres, hence Massa and Kimi have complained about their 1-lap performance and therefore the Ferraris are less likely to grain.
Three other things happened. The resurfaced much smoother track, Ferrari's perpensity to be fast further into their tires stints, and the heat of the track, made it a ferrari frendly track

[Dave B]

The way I see it, if LH were the champion now, we would have several threads about how the driver with the most wins didn't get it.
Unless of course he'd won in Brazil in which case he'd be tied with Kimi on 5 wins each.

[janneppi]

The way I see it, if LH were the champion now, we would have several threads about how the driver with the most wins didn't get it.
Indeed. The outcome may vary, but the amount of bickering and moaning stays the same. :)

[markabilly]

Indeed. The outcome may vary, but the amount of bickering and moaning stays the same. :)

Quit whining and moaning!!!

all this gives you something to do and keeps your life from being a total waste............ :D

You should start a thread/poll..The moaning, whinest driver of the year award...I would nominate FA and LH as co champions, but because LH did more bragging the last two races without backing it up....... "I am cooler than Kimi"..and then whined about first the japan mess, and then the tire deal like he was the only persecuted person to ever have to pay a penalty (when I can not recall once that he did pay any penalties hisself this year...), I guess the tiebreaker would go to him

[jens]

It's 1986 all over again. Then the Williamses fought against each other and lost the title in the end... Since 2000 only such teams have won the WDC, who have had a preference inside the team. Okay, in 2007 Ferrari kept equality for about 2/3 of the season, but not until the end like McLaren, which was costly for the latter. Something to think about for Ron...

[BDunnell]

It's 1986 all over again. Then the Williamses fought against each other and lost the title in the end... Since 2000 only such teams have won the WDC, who have had a preference inside the team. Okay, in 2007 Ferrari kept equality for about 2/3 of the season, but not until the end like McLaren, which was costly for the latter. Something to think about for Ron...

The difference was that, in 1986, Prost (as one journalist remarked) won the championship despite being slower than his two main rivals.

[tinchote]

Unless of course he'd won in Brazil in which case he'd be tied with Kimi on 5 wins each.

Of course. I was just thinking about LH finishing 5th in yesterday's race.