[Team] McLaren - can they compete?

[knighty]

Originally Posted by ASCII Man

Successes in junior formula's are irrelevant in F1. The only reason he got hyped is because he is one of the most experienced rookies ever, and look at what he's doing in F1 right now, outperformed in every way by his teammate and making stupid mistakes like the one he made just now.

He is overrated.

totally agree, in Japanese superformula last year he was nothing special, and certainly not worthy of an F1 drive based on that performance where he should have trounced everyone, he is just another magnussen/heidfeldt/delarosa type of driver.......a journeyman......they should stick Lando Norris in the car, it will be a far better investment of time, and far more marketable

[BSchneiderFan]

Originally Posted by knighty

totally agree, in Japanese superformula last year he was nothing special, and certainly not worthy of an F1 drive based on that performance where he should have trounced everyone, he is just another magnussen/heidfeldt/delarosa type of driver.......a journeyman......they should stick Lando Norris in the car, it will be a far better investment of time, and far more marketable

Race and pole winner in his first (and only) season in a very specialised series up against highly experienced drivers. I'm not saying Vandoorne is the next Schumacher, but to dismiss his pre-F1 career as that of a journeyman is just silly.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by knighty

totally agree, in Japanese superformula last year he was nothing special, and certainly not worthy of an F1 drive based on that performance where he should have trounced everyone, he is just another magnussen/heidfeldt/delarosa type of driver.......a journeyman......they should stick Lando Norris in the car, it will be a far better investment of time, and far more marketable

I suspect just about every team in the pit road would fall over themselves to sign him!......

[chunterer]

Mclaren aren't worried about Stoffel at the moment are they!!

[S griffin]

Experience counts for a lot and that's why Fred is getting more out of that s***box. I couldn't Adam and Eve it when I saw he was 7th, but that just shows why he's one of, if not the, best

[10TENTHS]

They've probably turned down Vandoorne's engine for reliability reasons as well. He's had less failures than Alonso.

[ASCII Man]

He shouldn't be expected to set the world alight at any moment, to be honest. It's not just the comparison to his teammate, but also his lack of situational awareness. Being as dull as a Belgian doesn't help either.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by ASCII Man

He shouldn't be expected to set the world alight at any moment, to be honest. It's not just the comparison to his teammate, but also his lack of situational awareness. Being as dull as a Belgian doesn't help either.

You should know..

[ASCII Man]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

You should know..

That's exactly my point? I know that's supposed to be a personal attack, but uhm.. okay?

[S griffin]

I just think experience is more important in this season's cars, which makes it hard against a world class driver like Fred

[S griffin]

It's not his fault the Honda engine has fallen back again. Fred's just doing a mega job in the car

[chillibowl]

probably should post this in the Alonso/Indy thread but in a way i think its more relevant for F1 fans so here is an article by the man himself written for the Players Tribune website. (obviously move if necessary)

for those not familiar with the site, it was created by a former baseball player and is a site for athletes to tell their own stories in their own words. Kobe Bryant chose to announce his retirement on this site with a poem so check it out as there are many great stories on it and its a brilliant site.

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/fe...onda-andretti/

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

probably should post this in the Alonso/Indy thread but in a way i think its more relevant for F1 fans so here is an article by the man himself written for the Players Tribune website. (obviously move if necessary)

for those not familiar with the site, it was created by a former baseball player and is a site for athletes to tell their own stories in their own words. Kobe Bryant chose to announce his retirement on this site with a poem so check it out as there are many great stories on it and its a brilliant site.

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/fe...onda-andretti/

That's a cracking little read - and really shows both why he gets frustrated with the current car, but also why he enjoys getting the best results he can.
It is clear that he doesn't need to be in a dominant car, just a competitive one.

[Adam43]

I've grown to like Alonso over the years. This stuff wasn't obvious to me at the beginning of his career. Although his speed was. As was his ability to adapt. Do you remember his early Renault, odd front end. Yet he can take a car set up different to this. There is no he can't drive a car with understeer or oversteer with Alonso. No circuit specialist.

[Greem]

Originally Posted by Adam43

I've grown to like Alonso over the years.

I've both liked and not liked some aspects of his way of going about things, but I've had (sometimes begrudging!) respect for his ability to wrestle cars into places they clearly shouldn't be. I'm really looking forward to the 500, I just have to hope I get back from Silverstone in time to watch it!

[RWill2073]

Originally Posted by Adam43

I've grown to like Alonso over the years. This stuff wasn't obvious to me at the beginning of his career. Although his speed was. As was his ability to adapt. Do you remember his early Renault, odd front end. Yet he can take a car set up different to this. There is no he can't drive a car with understeer or oversteer with Alonso. No circuit specialist.

Me too. He was never someone I made a point to pull for or anything. But his sense of humor the last few years, his bad luck in picking teams at the wrong time, him going to Indy and his ability to get a crap car where it doesn't belong has made him one of my favorites now.

[S griffin]

Fred can adapt to a wheelbarrow

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Fred can adapt to a wheelbarrow

And a board https://twitter.com/McLarenIndy/stat...933185/video/1

[F1Guy]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

And a board https://twitter.com/McLarenIndy/stat...933185/video/1

Quicker than his MCL32?

[S griffin]

I love the way he has had a little more fun than the other ones who are in the sport and he needs to be a happy boy to be able to make the best of the car

[ASCII Man]

I like how some of the other drivers came out of the woodwork to talk down on his decision to ditch the Monaco GP, as if it's some kind of sacrilege, just to stroke their own and their teams/sponsors' egos.

'Oh, I would never even dream of doing this!'
'I did this too, but it was like for totally different and understandable reasons for me, you guys!'
'This is very unprofessional!'
'I don't even understand how McLaren would allow this!'

And so on, and so forth.

It's hilarious, but also pathetic.

I appreciate Alonso's attitude about this, not letting anything that's been said deter him from enjoying this new adventure. Kudos!

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by ASCII Man

I like how some of the other drivers came out of the woodwork to talk down on his decision to ditch the Monaco GP, as if it's some kind of sacrilege, just to stroke their own and their teams/sponsors' egos.

'Oh, I would never even dream of doing this!'
'I did this too, but it was like for totally different and understandable reasons for me, you guys!'
'This is very unprofessional!'
'I don't even understand how McLaren would allow this!'

And so on, and so forth.

It's hilarious, but also pathetic.

I appreciate Alonso's attitude about this, not letting anything that's been said deter him from enjoying this.

I bet few of them could take a totally unfamiliar car/engine/tyre/track/setup combo and bang it into 7th in qualifying against blokes & blokettes who have run these cars for years & years...

[Akrapovic]

Frankly I think some drivers are upset because it suggests F1 isn't the centre of the world. It is insulting to them because it brings them down a bit. He'd rather do something else, something potentially bigger.

I love when drivers drive anything Romain Dumas is another example. Dakar, Pikes Peak, LMP1, LMP2, GT3, etc. If it has wheels he'll drive it. I love that. I'm not an Alonso fan at all but I love when he's doing. I hope he does get the Indy win (but I don't think it'll happen this year - I think he should go do a few years of Indycar) and then go to Le Mans with a LMP1 contract and gets the triple crown. It might kick start others into doing more random events and series.

[BSchneiderFan]

I am avowedly not a fan of the Spaniard, but respect for running Indy and qualifying in the top nine.

[RWill2073]

Those attitudes just prove he was right when he said some of them are happy for him and some of them aren't happy with anything in life. F1 seems to be the most miserable group involved in racing at any level. Alonso hasn't looked as happy as he has this year probably for a decade.