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[Hammer278]

What's alarming is the schadenfreude displayed by some so-called F1 fans and wishing the worst on McLaren in a McLaren support thread. Maybe we could have a McLaren hate thread where some of us could avoid the hate.

As Bud says there is nothing alarming in the least at a title sponsors contract coming to an end and not being renewed. Given that McLaren is an established F1 name and a front running team, finding a new title sponsor will be pretty easy if one has not yet been found (which it has).

No one was even badmouthing the team, Cookinflat just put a link for a news piece, and racechick was expressing her opinion. EDITED WB<What> is up with you, you aren't even a fan of McLaren so why get your knickers in a twist?

[racechick]

Aren't you a red Bull supporter? And now suddenly the voice of MclAren? I don't hate Mclaren, I dislike one of their drivers and the way he manipulated the team, and that reflects badly on the team in my eyes but ,I've supported them for many years, something you haven't done. I'm quite sad at the Mclaren situation because it feels like a shadow of what It was when Ron was at the helm. I might be wrong and all might be fine, I'm not really bothered either way anymore.

[andrew]

My team preferences are irrelevant. If that is your logic then (as your profile states) you support whoever Hamilton drives for. You claim that I have never supported McLaren - bit of a bold assumption as I have only been on this forum for a small fraction of the amount of time I have watched F1.

Above all else I am an F1 fan and I don't like seeing an established and successful name needlessly and constantly having the ripped out of it.

[What's Burning?]

Time to cool off for a bit.

[What's Burning?]

Think before you post, if you've said it before in this thread is it really worth repeating?

[Nin-Chin]

Pretty irrelevant,but anyway

How a factory mistake made McLaren unrealistically fast in Jerez test


McLaren’s impressive pace on the first day of testing in Jerez in February was generated by a mistake when the car was being put together in the factory, Martin Whitmarsh has confirmed to this blog.

A suspension component was fitted incorrectly to the new car – apparently it was simply the wrong way round – and the unexpectedly low ride height that resulted happened to work well at the Spanish track. Button set the pace that day, suggesting that the MP4-28 could be the car to beat.

However once the mistake was discovered that night, it was rectified, as the car could not be run in that state long term at other venue, especially with heavy fuel loads.

Since then the team has struggled to get close to that initial performance, leading rivals and other observers to wonder just why the McLaren had been so impressive out of the box.

On Friday in Australia Jenson Button pinpointed the issue by saying: “We had a set-up we didn’t think we had. It wasn’t one we could work with.”

A little investigation has revealed that it wasn’t simply a question of a miscalculation of settings, but a part being fitted wrongly.

“It was a part fitted incorrectly which caused us to run the car unrealistically low, that happened to play to the strengths of the car,” Whitmarsh confirmed when asked by this blog. “It wouldn’t work on a bumpy circuit like this. That’s why the car at the moment is too peaky in its performance, and that’s something we’ve got to resolve. It was a set-up which on many tracks was not realistic.”

Whitmarsh also noted that McLaren’s extreme problems on Friday in Australia were related to trying to run the in a low configuration once again.

[darwin dali]

^^Is this, are they for REAL?
Didn't know McLaren has ties to rednecks:

[LRW]

Pretty irrelevant,but anyway

How a factory mistake made McLaren unrealistically fast in Jerez test

Nin-chin. Would you mind awfully in posting a link, or at least the name of, the sources of these sort of posts.

Always nice to see who it's coming from.

[CookinFlat6]

Interesting, but also totally unbelievable, there is no way the car is out on track and non of the sensors and telemetry highlight a ride height outside the optimised amount. So they reverted to a legal height and were suddenly bottoming and bouncing all over the place? Whats the point of a simulator?

I would say more likely they were deliberately showboating in an attempt to give new potential title sponsors some thing to grasp. Remove that 1 stunning lap and the peakiness of the car is suddenly from 1.5 seconds off the pace to 2.5

[andrew]

Are you suggesting they deliberately fitted a component incorrectly potentially endangering their drivers?

[Nin-Chin]

Pretty irrelevant,but anyway

How a factory mistake made McLaren unrealistically fast in Jerez test

Nin-chin. Would you mind awfully in posting a link, or at least the name of, the sources of these sort of posts.

Always nice to see who it's coming from.

Ok,its Adam Cooper's blog

[andrew]

Linky

[CookinFlat6]

According to Bernie, Lewis wanted to take a sabbatical rather than stay another year at McLaren

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130315/F1/130319870

snippet

Ecclestone said. “Lewis told me that he would have rather taken a year off. I don’t know why it came to blows. In fairness to Lewis, he didn’t leave McLaren over money.

Its now obvious why it came to blows

[racechick]

Had Rosberg not retired and Hulkenberg started the race, would this have been McLarens first non scoring race for many a year? Ifs and buts I know, but it was dangerously close.
I've read something somewhere about an interview that Whitmarsh gave which if true beggars belief. He said they were getting really good readings over winter from the simulator but they based the simulator on last years tyres and rules . I mean WHAT!! We've all been talking about the effect of the changes, how can you just ignore them? Much of my criticism of Whitmarsh has been over his treatment and handling of the drivers but if this is true it puts the ineptitude into a whole new league. I'm sorry I don't have a quote , I just read it, so if anyone has anymore information I'd be interested to read it. I believe reverting to last years car was also mentioned, though not as a definite yet.. But surely that will have the same problems with the new tyres?

[spankyham]

Making the change to a pull-rod front was a very big call for McLaren and a very big change to try and manage. Couple that with the ridiculous "almost no testing" rule and you are bound to go through what McLaren are now and Ferrari did last year. I hope they stick to their guns on this as I believe it will pay off not just this year but for future years as well.