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[Rad-oh-yeah?]

De Ferran explains lack of McLaren development



By: Chris Medland | 2 hours ago


McLaren sporting director Gil de Ferran says a variety of factors have led to the team not developing its car significantly during this season.

The Japanese Grand Prix saw the two McLarens drop out of qualifying in 18th and 19th respectively, with only a crash for Marcus Ericsson preventing them being the slowest cars in Q1. Fernando Alonso explained after the session that the McLaren had not been developed to the same extent as its rivals’ cars this year, and de Ferran — who was appointed as the team’s sporting director following the departure of racing director Eric Boullier in July — says a number of aspects have added up to that lack of progress.

“It’s a variety of things,” de Ferran said. “First, I think we needed to gain an understanding of some of the issues that we were having, what was the root cause of these issues. Some of the developments that we have tried didn’t quite work, and then you have to go and understand why that is. And that happened earlier in the year.

“We have brought a few things, but it’s a race of development as well, as you know, so you don’t live in an absolute world in that sense.

“Lastly, I think there is a lot of truth to the fact that we are very focused on next year’s car and trying to make a better car so we can be more competitive. I think the car this year on certain circuits really exposes some of the weaknesses that we have.


De Ferran (third from left) has faced plenty of challenges in his role at McLaren. (Image by Andy Hone/LAT)

“In Singapore, we had a very good race. Fernando for part of the race held fastest lap in a very genuine way, and we finished in what I thought was a very strong seventh position. (But) there are certain circuits that we go to that are very difficult for our current package.”

However, de Ferran is encouraged by the technical structure McLaren now has in place for the future after a number of changes to personnel during this year.

“We have two key directors who are in charge of the technical side of the team — Andrea Stella who’s performance director and Pat Fry as engineering director. We have a huge team. Essentially those are the two guys in charge. When Simon (Roberts, chief operating officer) is essentially running the team and coordinating all the work, my feeling is it’s working quite well.”

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

Meklaren ažurirao nos bolida

 

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

McLaren’s Formula 1 cars will carry Coca-Cola brand names from this weekend as part of a new sponsorship deal, the team has announced.

The deal will run for the rest of the 2018 season. Coca-Cola sub-brands Dasani Sparkling and SmartWater will be featured at the USA, Brazilian and season-ending Abu Dhabi Grands Prix. The logos will appear on the cars’ barge boards.

“Coca-Cola has a rich history of sponsorship and a record of innovative activations and we are honoured the company has chosen to partner with McLaren to explore opportunities in Formula 1,” said McLaren Group CEO Zak Brown.

“Formula 1 as a sport is changing, as are we as a team, and we’re looking forward to introducing Coca-Cola to the potential that our team and fantastic, global sport represents.”

The company’s brands will also be displayed on the overalls of drivers Fernando Alonso, Stoffel Vandoorne and Lando Norris.

[alpiner]

Lepa vest!   Bravo za upravu!

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Zvanicno:

 

 

The McLaren Racing team will not field an IndyCar Series entry next season. Widely speculated in light of the team’s ongoing struggles in Formula 1, the news was not unexpected.

 

“We’ve taken the decision to not compete on a full-time basis in 2019,” Brown said during a press conference at Circuit of The Americas. “We’re simply not ready yet and are focused on Formula 1, so we won’t be doing that in 2019. We do have the desire, as we’ve mentioned before, in the near future.”

 

Ostaju vrata odskrinuta za ucestvovanje samo na Indi 500 sa Alonsom.

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

...

 

Što je Alonsu dovoljno, ako nekim slučajem pobedi. No Meklarenu to ne odgovara u potpunosti. Sa' će da se fokusiraju na 2020. godinu a usput će Alonso voziti Šampionat Izdržljivosti a možda provoza Gen2 FE bolid...

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Ma nece biti nista od Meklarena u Indikaru, tu pricu samo Braun gura, nikom drugom u timu nije stalo do toga a pojedinci su cak otvoreno protiv. Pre ce se Braun ucipiti sa nekim u jednu od postojecih ekipa pod svojom firmom Junajted Autosport nego pod firmom Meklarena.

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

Sad sam se setio, možda Bron progura Meklaren u Šampionat Izdržljivost te se oproba u novoj eri hiperautomobila odnosno LMP1. Ako bi se Meklaren proširivao negde najlogičniji izbor bi bio VEC po meni.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Tesko da ce Bron (Ross Brawn) bilo gde da pogura Meklaren jer s njim nidje veze, ali zato Braun (Zak Brown) mozda i pogura. Ideja s ovim novim pravilima za LMP1 klasu gde se ona pretvara prakticno u klasu hiperautomobila zasnovanih na modelima za ulicu i jeste bila da se privuku proizvodjaci poput Paganija, Kenigsega, Bugatija i slicnih - pa sto ne i Ferarija, Porsea, Meklarena.

[каурин]

@Радоје
Шта то спречава Мекларен да се такмичи у Индикару? Логистика? Паре сигурно нису...

Био сам мишљења да ће ући, јер имаш приличну "лаганицу" у односу на "трку у наоружању" која постоји у F1 и возача са којим нећеш морати ни да имаш претерано добар болид у почетку...

Изостанак Алонсовог разочарења у Мекларен ове године (са великим очекивањима) је био очигледан, али сам се надао да је вентил за то (поред WEC-a) била и могућност уласка у Индикар...

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Meklarenov budzet u F1 je 50% manji od Mercedesovog i Ferarijevog i oko 30% manji od Red Bulovog, tako da bas i ne plivaju u novcu. Usput, taj novac nije od sponzora nego direktno od akcionara koji ne zele da se bacaju u dalje troskove pa cak ni za relativno jeftin Indikar program gde sezona moze da se izgura i za nekih 15-tak miliona.

 

Vecina ljudi koja odlucuje u timu smatra da bi ulazak u Indikar bilo rasipanje resursa u vreme kada im je potrebno da se 100% skoncentrisu na F1 nakon u svakom smislu katastrofalne sezone. Prakticno je Braun tu jedini od celnika koji gura tu pricu o diversifikovanju i povratku u Indikar i takmicenja sportskih prototipova, svi ostali (a narocito Arapi - Mansur i Bahreinci) su apsolutno protiv.

 

Steta, jer ja bih bas voleo da vidim Meklaren i na Indiju i na Lemanu. To nam je u DNK.

 

 

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Evo i ova prica je zavrsena:
 

McLaren is "highly unlikely" to be on the grid with a hypercar concept prototype for the 2020/21 season should it commit to the World Endurance Championship's new top class.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has stressed the marque's interest in the new category through its involvement in the rule-making process, but has expressed doubts that it would participate from the introduction of the category in the autumn of 2020.

"I don't think we would be ready for the first year of the new championship," Brown said.

"We have a good sense of what the rules are going to be - we've been very engaged.

"I believe the rules are going to be put in place at the end of the year, and then we'll be in a position to take a decision if we're going to enter and when we would enter.

"But highly unlikely it would be for the start of the 2020 calendar."

 

I ovde je Braun izduvao zbog Arapa. Na kraju ce i F1 tim da ugase kako je krenulo, ako se nastavi s ovakvim rezultatima (tj. nedostatkom istih). Bahreinci su onomad kupili deonice Meklarena da na njima zarade a ne da trose svoj novac, i kad-tad ce da ga iskljuce s aparata...

 

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

Meh, 2019. je ključ svega što se tiče budućnosti Meklaren Rejsinga uopšte. Ovo trenutno je živi očaj...

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

 

McLaren has signed Sergio Sette Camara to its young driver programme. The 20-year-old will be the team’s test and development driver.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Carlos Sainz is not expecting to make a big leap up the F1 grid in 2019.

In fact, the Spaniard said that even if McLaren improves, he should be not be any higher in the field than he is at the wheel of his Renault this year.

Sainz told EFE news agency that his dream of winning the world championship is therefore "far away".

"If you're not in a Ferrari or a Mercedes, winning the world championship is a bit difficult," he smiled.

Sainz says McLaren - his team for 2019 - has had "a difficult year" in which "they realised they were maybe not going in the right direction".

"But I think that has helped them to learn, reset a bit and start from zero. That means we must be realistic and know that we will probably be fighting for positions similar to the ones I am fighting for right now with Renault."

Nonetheless, he says McLaren is not a dud move for his career.

In fact, Sainz said the Woking team is a "safe bet" as it is "the second most prestigious F1 team".

"All the companies, all the teams, all the drivers go through highs and lows and McLaren is in one of its lows. But I also believe that, being one of the best teams in the history of F1, they will know how to recover," he added.