What's happening at McLarens ???

[Avril_Fan]

I would like to know what's up with McLarens. Used to be a fan of Mika, now Kimi and the chequered flag seems to be no where in sight for them. I remember the 1998/97 races when Michael envied the Mclarens. Are we ever to get those days back ?

May be Ron lacks a bit of tact, but does it mean that he's all by himself ? Aren't there people like Norbert, Adrian and co. ?

[henk4]

They are opening a new factory. Seems to absorb all other resources as well. Small consolation, there have been lengthy periods of Ferrari struggling also, in particular when they let John Barnard operate from a factory located in the UK

[drakkie]

They are opening a new factory. Seems to absorb all other resources as well.

True, it should get all different parts of the factory near eachother.It should make the cooperation between these parts easier, and the cars faster.

Also the engine provided by mercedes is crap.To slow and unreliable.The did reasonable at Monaco, but you dont really need a lot of engine power(for the higher speeds)there.I hope they sort this stuff out soon.It is bad for their image, and sponsors are gonna walk away if they dont improve soon.

[Dino Scuderia]

Ron and Adrian both have basically admitted that they haven't been 100% focused on buiding a winning car.

I think the new car is beautiful but the engine is an embarrassment for Mercedes.

Poor Kimi, one of the best out there and stuck in that lump.

[Cotterik]

Mclaren are just having a bad year, its not the drivers, as we saw in 2003, Kimi is clearly good enough to win a world championship whenever McLaren-Mercedes get round to providing him with a car even remotely fit for the task.
But the build up to the Mp4-19 was much dissapointed by the awesome looks but the extremely poor mechanics, which is extremely rare for Mclaren.

However Adrian Newey has revealed that McLaren could be ready to run the revised MP4-19B in a fortnight.

The technical director said he was hopeful that the new car would deliver ‘significant’ performance gains as McLaren bid to recover from their dismal start to the season.

Newey said: “It’s an updated car so virtually all the mechanical parts are the same but from the bodywork perspective it’s heavily updated and that involves some changes to the monocoque shape, which means that we have to re-crash test. That’s done, signed off, so we’re building the car at the moment.

ADRIAN NEWEY IN MONACO FIA PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Adrian, Team McLaren Mercedes is to bring out a updated car later this season. How new is that car going to be? What is going to be new? Everything?

"No, it’s not a new car, it’s an updated car so virtually all the mechanical parts are the same but from the bodywork perspective it’s heavily updated and that involves some changes to the monocoque shape which means that we have to re-crash test. That’s done, signed off, so we’re building the car at the moment."

Q: And engine, is that the same?

"Still a Mercedes-Benz."

Q: What about your performance here, is it better or worse than you expected?

"The first day of Monaco is always a bit fickle so I’ll reserve judgement until after qualifying or preferably the race."

Q: But were there some hopeful signs today?

"The drivers seem reasonably happy with the car, but if they’re quick they’re happy, if they’re not quick they’re not happy. There’s nothing new there."

I hope and trust the MP4-19B will be a far better car than the sorry s***box with which Kimi and David Coulthard are currently battling - but the fact is that, however grippy the new McLaren chassis is, a Mercedes-Ilmor V10 is a whole lot less grunty than a BMW V10. As a result, I'd be a tad surprised if next year's McLaren is a championship contender.
Neway, Here's hoping. Formula 1 needs a healthy McLaren - for many reasons. Not least because, without it, Kimi's sublime talent is in danger of being hidden or, worse, blunted by disappointment. And that would be a tragedy, because he's the business. And Ferrari know it.