Well done McLaren

[Glen]

Now there are three words that stick in my throat! Well done though for finding a truly awesome blend on this car - to win at Barcelona and straight away at Monaco is a terrific achievement. To do it so emphatically is all the more impressive. The really worrying thing for the other teams is that Barcelona and Monaco are so different - Barcelona being all high speed corners and a true aero circuit, Monaco being more or less the opposite. Add-in Kimi's pace in Imola and you're looking at one formidable race car with no obvious weaknesses.

Williams are on the come-back too... here comes one very tightly fought Championship.

[Kicking-back]

Yes, it proves the old adage - McLaren and Williams can never be written off.

Since 1984, only McLaren, Williams and Schumacher have been champions

[dsg]

I also agree the McLaren team have been awesome and think the they have used the information gained from running a 3rd car on Friday better than any of those who have had the opportunity in the past. Add this to Kimi's natural talent and the improved reliability and it's no surprise they are on the way to creating a new world champion.

As good as Alonso looked in the first four races I fear he is about to be overwhelmed by the Kimi McLaren.

[Glen]

McLaren and Williams (and Ferrari actually) have the culture, facilities and energy required to bring about big, big improvements as the season goes on. Great team though they are, this is not a trait that one would normally associate with the Renault team. Also, Renault have already said that they were so pleased with early-season car that that it is difficult to see where there might be room for improvement, whereas McLaren and Williams could see exactly what they needed to do, and now they are doing it. BAR will be back next race too - so that's even more pressure on the points.

[BootsOntheSide]

Raikkonen's pace in the last 3 races really has been astonishing, and on some differing types of circuit. Montoya has showed pace as well, but just needs to bring it all together. The third car is certialy helping, as is having experienced drivers for it. As McLaren's testing is usually so ruthlessly efficient, they are able to make great use of these sessions.

[Don K]

Originally Posted by Glen

McLaren and Williams (and Ferrari actually) have the culture, facilities and energy required to bring about big, big improvements as the season goes on.

I wouldn't write off Ferrari yet.

A couple of races ago (Imola??), the car was very fast.
And yesterday (after the safety car situation) Michael may have been slower than Raikkonen, but he was faster than anybody else.

[Glen]

It is a mystery that they can only get that extreme pace in very particular circumstances though. I certainly am not writing them off entirely, but both Championships are almost unattainable for them now. McLaren could still do it with Kimi though, especially if Renault fail to roll in in second place every time - which will be the case if Williams keep improving and Montoya settles down.

[Don K]

Originally Posted by Glen

It is a mystery that they can only get that extreme pace in very particular circumstances though.

Not very misterious.

Their new car has been involved in quite a number of accidents so far.
And their have been mechanical problems. So the accidents may have had more negative influence than accidents that occur to a fully developed car.

So far, their car seems to be quick enough for a podium in every race (just like McLaren, Renault and Williams).
But they have quite a way to go with respect to reliability.
And they have to improve slightly, if they want to play a role in one of the championships.

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by Glen

It is a mystery that they can only get that extreme pace in very particular circumstances though.

I was think this also, always seems to be after Michael has made a pit stop, maybe they are topping him up with nitrous oxide?

[Glen]

Don - if it is not a mystery, then maybe you can offer an explanation? Why would a car go really fast for only about 20% of the race? Their reliability seems fine now, they just have no pace most of the time, and then they mysteriously do.

The suspicion must be that they tyres aren't good when new and take a long time to get into a nice fast and consistent condition. They can't do what they were doing last year, and set the car up to generate more heat in the tyres more quickly, because then they wouldn't get the durability. McLaren have managed this trick (of combining excellent one lap speed with good durability) but they are working with tyres that are already good in that regard.

[Don K]

Originally Posted by Glen

Don - if it is not a mystery, then maybe you can offer an explanation? Why would a car go really fast for only about 20% of the race? Their reliability seems fine now, they just have no pace most of the time, and then they mysteriously do.

Yesterday their speed was OK.

Michael was fast during the first laps.
After that he got stuck behind a slightly slower car (Coulthard, iirc).
At that point he was running 8th.

His car was damaged during the Albers incident, and he ended up just behind Raikkonen, 1 lap down.

After the safety had left, he was slightly slower than Raikkonen, and he was faster than the rest of the field.
Later on, he was slightly faster than Raikonnen.

I don't remember his pace during the last part of the race, but as he ended up in the group behind Montoya and managed to almost overtake Ralf during the final lap, we can assume he was at least as fast (probably faster) than the McLaren and the Toyota.

So the only "mysterious" part is why he was slow durint Q1.
And that's no real mystery either: He was one of the first cars in that session.

[gert]

Originally Posted by Don K

After the safety had left, he was slightly slower than Raikkonen, and he was faster than the rest of the field.
Later on, he was slightly faster than Raikonnen.

I don't remember his pace during the last part of the race, but as he ended up in the group behind Montoya and managed to almost overtake Ralf during the final lap, we can assume he was at least as fast (probably faster) than the McLaren and the Toyota.

He was surely helped by the fact that the Montoya group was stuck behind the at-that-point very slow Renault of Fisichella for a while.

I think we only saw the true speed of the ones who were able to drive around freely...

[Don K]

Originally Posted by gert

He was surely helped by the fact that the Montoya group was stuck behind the at-that-point very slow Renault of Fisichella for a while.

OK.
I missed that.
But indeed, Montoya was stuck behing Trulli and Fisichella when Michael closed the gap to that group.

Still, the fact that he managed to close the gap to the Trulli-group first, and almost overtook Ralf later, suggests that he was faster than the Toyota at that time.
And he was obviously just as fast as the McLaren, since the Montoya-Ralf-Barrichello-Michael-group stayed close together during the final 15 laps of the race.

[ralf fan]

Macca's pace is ominous IMO.... Raikkonnen was faster than Alonso in the early stages when Raikkonnen had more fuel on board..... and Renault are suppose to be the 2nd best car..

im afraid we could see some Mac-washes the next few races...

[Just Do It!]

What most people may not realise is that the Monaco race win comes at a time of anniversary for the McLaren team - the anniversary of it's first ever Formula One start back in the days when the team was largely run by Kiwis.

We are still waving the McLaren flag down here in New Zealand and we are pretty proud of all the team has achieved. We Kiwis also proudly have, I am reliably told, the largest number of F1 employees from any country in the world.

*puts his trumpet away*

[Dutton]

Mclaren have indeed got themselves sorted. The impression is mounting that the next few races will see Mclaren winning a lot, and Renault trying to make their leads stretch (Alonso can stretch his for a considerable time; Renault less so).

Congratulations to them, they ahve done the excellent job we all know well they are capable of - the surprise being quite how long it has taken them...

With regards Ferrari, I think the potential is there for them to do singificantly better. If Bridgestone could produce a tyre that enables good qualifying, then things could improve a bit. It wouldn'y be the ultiamte solution for everything, of course, but it would certainly help.

[Kicking-back]

Originally Posted by Just Do It!

We Kiwis also proudly have, I am reliably told, the largest number of F1 employees from any country in the world.

*puts his trumpet away*

Per head of population, that may well be true.

As an actual total number, it's most likely the UK has the most.

[Just Do It!]

We have 4 million people down here. Oh, 4.6 million if you count all the Kiwis living in Australia - particularly Queensland!