I will let the cat out the bag: I am a McLaren fan and have been one since the day they gave my man Gilles Villeneuve his grand prix debut at the 1977 British Grand Prix.
I was glad when Teddy Mayer got the boot and Ron Dennis took over the team. From that point on it went from strength to strength and has etched itself deeply into the legends of Formula 1. They won often. Sundays in my home were happy. But days like those are now a distant memory.
Right now, and for some years, it is frustrating and sad to be a McLaren fan.
With the first test of the 2017 season done and dusted I am dismayed and bewildered that this once great team, and their illustrious engine supplier, has made no progress… in fact they appear to have gone backwards.
Honda’s all new power unit appears to be a flop. Frustration within McLaren was such that there were reports of angry shouts coming from their pit garage. The body language and gestures among the crew were visibly resigned and frustrated. There were few smiles to be seen.
Indeed, Eric Boullier joked after the first day that “plates were being thrown” inside their garage at Circuit de Catalunya. Word is he wasn’t really joking…
First rule of F1 preseason testing is never to take the lap times too seriously, nevertheless it is worthwhile in this instance of establishing exactly where McLaren stand.
Stoffel Vandoorne’s best lap time of 1:22,576 came on the final day of the test using Pirelli ultrasoft tyres which was 2.8 seconds down on the best time of 1:19,705 set by Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas on day three.
The second best time of the week was set by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel on Pirelli softs, was 2.6 seconds quicker than Vandoorne. Only the Toro Rosso pair and the Force India reserve were slower than Alonso and Vandoorne.
Second rule of F1 preseason testing is that mileage is very important. Here McLaren fall well short too. Last year the Woking outfit managed 1196 km during the first four days of testing. This year they covered 968 km, 228 km less than a year ago.
But perhaps most notable and alarming is the fact that McLaren did 1629 km less than pace setting Mercedes drivers, while Fernando Alonso did 1038 km less in the MCL32 than Bottas did in the W08.
Much has been made of the problematic new Honda engine, of which the team used three during the four days, but apparently the chassis is quite a handful too.
However it would be unfair to lob this into the pile of problems the team are having just yet. After all the engine needs to be up to speed before the chassis can be seriously evaluated at the limit.
Agreed, it is not the catastrophe of testing in 2015 – remember that – but it is now three years down the road for the partnership of two organisations with massive pedigree in Formula 1. That they are still struggling at this point is incomprehensible.
The Spanish media, who report on Alonso much like the Italian media report on Ferrari, were questioning the team’s showing in Barcelona, with El Confidencial running these headlines:
- What the hell is going on with McLaren and Honda after three years?
- Fernando is driving with anger
While Marca trumpeted:
- The McLaren Honda nightmare continues
With AS declaring:
- McLaren Honda laps less and worse than last year
We often hear how important it is for Formula 1 to have a strong Ferrari team, I agree and add that Formula 1 also needs a strong McLaren team. McLaren and Ferrari make Formula 1 richer, better value for money and more credible to fans.
As a McLaren fan I ask make the same accusations that the Spanish media make and ask the same questions.
After a below par 2016 season, Ferrari appear to have got their sums right during the winter, alas I cannot say the same of the team I support. But have to say this: Wake up McLaren because I want my happy Sundays back!
Inside Line Opinion by Paul Velasco
| Barcelona Test 1 – Overall Best Lap Times | ||||
| Driver | Team | Compound | Laptime | Test Day |
| Bottas | Mercedes | Ultrasoft | 01:19,705 | Day 3 |
| Vettel | Ferrari | Soft | 01:19,952 | Day 3 |
| Raikkonen | Ferrari | Soft | 01:20,960 | Day 2 |
| Hamilton | Mercedes | Supersoft | 01:20,983 | Day 2 |
| Ricciardo | Red Bull | Soft | 01:21,153 | Day 3 |
| Palmer | Renault | Soft | 01:21,396 | Day 3 |
| Verstappen | Red Bull | Soft | 01:21,769 | Day 4 |
| Hulkenberg | Renault | Soft | 01:21,791 | Day 3 |
| Ericsson | Sauber | Supersoft | 01:21,824 | Day 3 |
| Massa | Williams | Soft | 01:22,076 | Day 1 |
| Grosjean | Haas | Supersoft | 01:22,118 | Day 3 |
| Magnussen | Haas | Supersoft | 01:22,204 | Day 2 |
| Stroll | Williams | Soft | 01:22,351 | Day 3 |
| Giovinazzi | Sauber | Ultrasoft | 01:22,401 | Day 4 |
| Ocon | Force India | Supersoft | 01:22,509 | Day 2 |
| Perez | Force India | Supersoft | 01:22,534 | Day 4 |
| Vandoorne | McLaren | Ultrasoft | 01:22,576 | Day 4 |
| Alonso | McLaren | Ultrasoft | 01:22,598 | Day 3 |
| Kvyat | Toro Rosso | Soft | 01:22,956 | Day 2 |
| Sainz J | Toro Rosso | Medium | 01:23,540 | Day 3 |
| Celis | Force India | Ultrasoft | 01:23,568 | Day 3 |
Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247
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