the £50m fine is bound to mean financial constraints will hamper the development of the new car and a small garage at the end of the pit lane won't be helpful either for team mclaren. so are mclaren going to struggle to match the ferrari? i hope not and that mclaren can push the red cheaters all the way, otherwise it will be another dull season, cos whilst the rest of the field (honda, williams, renault) can be good on their day, they still do not have the consistency to sustain a challenge over a season. so is the 2008 season over before it's began or will lewis have the car to be able to push kimi all the way to brazil again?
2007-12-31 12:24:45 · 20 answers · asked by Foxhound 3 in Sports ➔ Auto Racing ➔ Formula One
You make excellent points Andrew and your fears are well founded. As a McLaren fan, I hope this will not happen first because like you I want McLaren to win and like you I do not want those red cheats at the Ferrari tribe to win. After the manipulations by the Fia and the Ferrari tribe in the spy farce against McLaren, McLaren will start the season with both a developmental and financial disadvantage like never before. McLaren are used to starting the season with a disadvantage because of the Fia but this disadvantage will be the worst ever. If anyone can overcome it, it is McLaren and Ron Dennis but the odds are heavily stacked against us. Still Andy, we live in hope!
2008-01-02 00:08:08 · answer #1 · answered by mclaren_highlander 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Some "interesting" answers already. Firefox sets out one view constructively - though I disagree. I think the reason that Ferrari came from behind at the end was that McLaren was severely handicapped by the "issue" with the FIA (I'll not get into the question of whether there was any basis for the FIA's conduct) and with Alonso.
I'm hoping the 2008 season will give us some interesting answers: was 2007 a carry over year for Ferrari where they lived off the development work of MS? Can that continue with him in his less-involved role? Is Alonso a great development driver or did he win in 2005 and 2006 due to a superior car? Is Lewis the next big thing or did he ride Alonso's setup expertise? Will BMW make it the "big three"? Can the FIA act fairly? Not long to wait . . .
2008-01-01 10:10:54 · answer #2 · answered by Rocketman 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
McLaren will be a contender in 2008. While I believe that Lewis is a good driver, I believe the car is what put him where he was. With Heikki in the running also, I believe the McLaren team has a strong one-two punch. Heikki did more with less last year, Lewis will have to stand out if he plans to be number one.
2008-01-02 10:48:22 · answer #3 · answered by David L 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Only time will tell! They have Lewis who had more podium/victory positions that most predicted and they now have Heikki who had a rough start to the 2007 season, but showed an improvement towards the end. It'll be interesting to see where Mclaren ends up in '08 but I believe they will be competing with Ferrari, Renault, and BMW, but will they be as strong as they were in '07? Again time will tell!
2008-01-01 11:12:01 · answer #4 · answered by f1angel 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Even if McLaren had a flat tyre from the start of the race, they'd still beat a Toyota!
2008-01-01 08:07:28 · answer #5 · answered by Robb the B.D.C. 5 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Lewis had nothing in the first place. McLaren admitted they stole the plans. In a non cheating team he would be very little & his talent is down there with Ayrton Senna. Alain Prost & Michael Schumaker were thinking Drivers who could complete a race in front safely. Lewis should take up NASCAR.
2008-01-01 07:40:47 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 4⤋
Until we actually see their car in action, all we can do is guess. 2008 will be a challenge for them but a team like mclaren will learn to adapt and make the most of their situation. They won't have it as easily as ferrari this year but that doesn't mean they'll fall back on the grid.
2008-01-01 02:08:20 · answer #7 · answered by ? 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It is interesting to see the McLaren fan's blind faith and your own unsporting term "red cheaters". Friend, in 2007 two teams were PROVEN to have cheated and red was not one of the colors involved. And yet, being a "cheater" fan, I am not going to linger on that history. Please learn to move on.
Now getting to your question, McLaren's best asset for 2007 was reliability. Ferrari almost always had the fastest cars (read cars that made the fastest laps). Towards the end of 2007 Ferrari's reliability caught up and changed the tunes of the championship so dramatically. Now in 2008, Ferrari will be riding on their speed, reliability, champion driver and champion team while McLaren is financially hit, fielding two relatively newcomers and facing a resurgent Renault (the pre-season rumour is that the 2008 Renault racer is already 1.5 seconds faster than its predecessor). Alonso's departure too will have its financial and technical consequences. It will be a miracle if McLaren is in the top three. There are new faces in the grid and take Ross Brawn's return to F1 with due significance. 2006 was interesting without McLaren, 2005 was interesting without Ferrari, there are always teams and drivers to make a season interesting. McLaren is just a team, F1 can go on without Lewis and McLaren (or any other combination for that reason)
My prediction is Kimi and Alonso fighting it out.
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Edit: Thanks Marc McLaren for not using the traditional Ferrari bashing style. FYI, Mercedes is an engine supplier and a stockholder in the McLaren Group. Big corporations dont shell out millions for "vengeance", it is McLaren Racing's responsibility to earn their fundings. Mercedes can always find another team as customers for their engines. 50 million would be a big sum for any team. McLaren racing has just about 550 employees with no other revenue source other than sponsorships and racing returns. Corporations dont like to spend, they prefer investing. So I would see the Stuttgart unveiling of the new McLaren racer as the Merc way of telling Woking who is the boss, not vengeance. If I am right, then its telltale cash strap, McLaren might be dancing to many more unprecedented tunes.
BTW, you are right about Massa and TC. How about your kids, can Kovi and Lewi adapt? Good one about Button!
2008-01-01 01:43:39 · answer #8 · answered by ? 6 · 3⤊ 4⤋
Come on, the red cheaters? What will it take for some F1 fans to admit that the cheaters this year was not Ferrari?
The fine is not insignificant. A $100 million fine is not insignificant even to the richest companies in the world and Mclaren is not the richest company in the world.
I think Mclaren will be competitive and win races in 2008 and I reckon that will be a problem. Many people in F1 believe they lied about the spy scandal. The FIA investigation reported suspicions about certain parts of their new car, parts that may have incorporated stolen ideas. They have offered to freeze development on the three key parts, but they don't have to get rid of these perhaps questionable parts. All teams will also be using Mclaren-Microsoft ECUs. In short, there's a lot of ammunition.
If Mclaren starts winning, and given what has occurred in the '07 season, I would expect other teams to be skeptical. If Mclaren starts dominating, I think their rivals will start asking serious questions and setting off scandal-making fireworks. These days I wonder if Mclaren will get the benefit of any doubt.
2008-01-01 00:02:35 · answer #9 · answered by Three Putt 4 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Mclaren fan views no they wont got 2 really class drivers lewis and heikki renualt has no chance
2007-12-31 21:21:07 · answer #10 · answered by MJ 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋