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Button says it is too early to write off McLaren
by Guest Sat 19 Feb 2011, 8:02 pm
McLaren have been hit by reliability problems in testing and lagged behind rivals Red Bull and Ferrari on pace.
Button said: "I still don't know where we stand. It's unfair to judge us because the amount of laps that we have done has not been massive."
Earlier, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso had said world champions Red Bull would again be the team to beat in 2011.
Button was 1.6 seconds slower than Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel's fastest time at the pre-season test in Barcelona on Saturday.
The 31-year-old Englishman said it was almost impossible to judge the relative pace of cars in testing because teams do not reveal which of the four types of tyre they are running or how much fuel the cars have on board.
Ferrari does look competitive in terms of consistency and the Red Bull looks pretty good but not as good as the Ferrari
But he admitted that some lessons could be drawn and that the Ferrari and Red Bull had produced the most eye-catching performance so far.
More on the story at BBC Sport Click Here
Button said: "I still don't know where we stand. It's unfair to judge us because the amount of laps that we have done has not been massive."
Earlier, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso had said world champions Red Bull would again be the team to beat in 2011.
Button was 1.6 seconds slower than Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel's fastest time at the pre-season test in Barcelona on Saturday.
The 31-year-old Englishman said it was almost impossible to judge the relative pace of cars in testing because teams do not reveal which of the four types of tyre they are running or how much fuel the cars have on board.
Ferrari does look competitive in terms of consistency and the Red Bull looks pretty good but not as good as the Ferrari
But he admitted that some lessons could be drawn and that the Ferrari and Red Bull had produced the most eye-catching performance so far.
More on the story at BBC Sport Click Here
Guest- Guest
Re: Button says it is too early to write off McLaren
by Mister Sat 19 Feb 2011, 9:05 pm
Gary Anderson just posted a blog which states that McLaren is lacking grip and does not look on par with RBR and Ferrari.
RBR and Ferrari's 2011 cars look quite similar to their predecessors because they have built on what was already good, whereas McLaren have taken a radical approach - and this doesn't always pay off.
RBR and Ferrari's 2011 cars look quite similar to their predecessors because they have built on what was already good, whereas McLaren have taken a radical approach - and this doesn't always pay off.
Mister- Posts : 23
Join date : 2011-02-17
Location : London
Re: Button says it is too early to write off McLaren
by Stevi555 Sun 06 Mar 2011, 3:27 pm
Lack of extracting downforce is the cause and impacted with the tyres. The McLaren duo have also highlighted that the car is not bad, and has potential. How quick MM can extract will be key. Now that could be a worry, but until qualifying, it's hard to say more on it for the time being.
Stevi555- Posts : 16
Join date : 2011-01-28
Age : 53
Location : Stirling, Scotland.UK
Re: Button says it is too early to write off McLaren
by cosicave Tue 15 Mar 2011, 1:34 am
I have been saying this for three years now: McLaren's long wheel-base design philosophy is relatively inflexible.
Putting it as simply as possible, the longer the wheelbase, the more difficult it is to get around a corner! (The biggest benefit of a long wheelbase is straight line stability. But F1 is all about going around corners!) A shorter wheelbase is also more sensitive to any design tweak(s) deemed necessary throughout a season, since it more readily responds to directional inputs from a driver. (More sensitive to steering and braking inputs whilst cornering). The problem is further exacerbated by tyres which disintegrate quickly because the lateral forces acting on a tyre tend to be greater with a longer wheelbase. And although my opinion appears to be at odds with some of McLaren's design team, I also believe that it is more difficult to control the airflow over a longer distance. Once again, this would seem to reinforce the benefit of a shorter wheelbase…
As if this combination is not enough of a problem, the fact that teams are now getting just 11 sets of tyres rather than the 14 they previously received per weekend, leaves 11/14ths (78.6%) of the previous potential to develop throughout a season, even before we take account of the fact that each set of tyres is also allowing far less mileage! The result of this is that it is going to be an even greater challenge for any team to catch up if they start the season with a disadvantage in design.
The noises coming from McLaren (or any other team) at this stage are bound to be designed to sound encouraging, since they would not wish to undermine themselves or their sponsors at such an early hour, and it is the duty of every driver to promote enthusiasm and encouragement amongst his/her team. However, in my opinion, they already have a dog of a car, which, regardless of allegiances is a shame for any spectator hoping for competitive racing at the front of the field. And whether from a driver's or a team's perspective, if you've got a dog, the worst thing to do is to get downbeat about it!
Putting it as simply as possible, the longer the wheelbase, the more difficult it is to get around a corner! (The biggest benefit of a long wheelbase is straight line stability. But F1 is all about going around corners!) A shorter wheelbase is also more sensitive to any design tweak(s) deemed necessary throughout a season, since it more readily responds to directional inputs from a driver. (More sensitive to steering and braking inputs whilst cornering). The problem is further exacerbated by tyres which disintegrate quickly because the lateral forces acting on a tyre tend to be greater with a longer wheelbase. And although my opinion appears to be at odds with some of McLaren's design team, I also believe that it is more difficult to control the airflow over a longer distance. Once again, this would seem to reinforce the benefit of a shorter wheelbase…
As if this combination is not enough of a problem, the fact that teams are now getting just 11 sets of tyres rather than the 14 they previously received per weekend, leaves 11/14ths (78.6%) of the previous potential to develop throughout a season, even before we take account of the fact that each set of tyres is also allowing far less mileage! The result of this is that it is going to be an even greater challenge for any team to catch up if they start the season with a disadvantage in design.
The noises coming from McLaren (or any other team) at this stage are bound to be designed to sound encouraging, since they would not wish to undermine themselves or their sponsors at such an early hour, and it is the duty of every driver to promote enthusiasm and encouragement amongst his/her team. However, in my opinion, they already have a dog of a car, which, regardless of allegiances is a shame for any spectator hoping for competitive racing at the front of the field. And whether from a driver's or a team's perspective, if you've got a dog, the worst thing to do is to get downbeat about it!
cosicave- Posts : 67
Join date : 2011-03-14
Location : International
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