For the past few years McLaren have dominated Formula 1 racing, but this is now all starting to change and when you were the best there is only one way to go and that is down.
For a Formula 1 team to be successful it needs more than just great drivers and great cars, it needs that extra ... Read review
Advantages: Great cars. Great drivers. Disadvantages: Lost enthusiasm.
For the past few years McLaren have dominated Formula 1 racing, but this is now all starting to change and when you were the best there is only one way to go and that is down.
For a Formula 1 team to be successful it needs more than just great drivers and great cars, it needs that extra spark, that drive and enthusiasm to make them better than all of the rest. In my opinion this is what McLaren have lost. They have got so used to ... ...go home or fall asleep.
Let’s hope that somebody at Woking can wake up this team and bring back some of the enthusiasm that Bruce McLaren had when he formed this team and make us proud again to say that McLaren is British.
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For the past few years McLaren have dominated Formula 1 racing, but this is now all starting to change and when you were the best there is only one way to go and that is down.
For a Formula 1 team to be successful it needs more than just great drivers and great cars, it needs that extra spark, that drive and enthusiasm to make them better than all of the rest. In my opinion this is what McLaren have lost. They have got so used to winning races that having a podium finish does not excite them anymore.
The pairing of David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen is the longest driver partnership that there has ever been in Formula 1. This I believe is the heart of the problem. The team has just got too set in it’s ways and has become a bit stale. They need some new blood and most probably the best idea would be get a driver with a very different driving style that would give the team a new lease of life and a new challenge.
It is clear that Ron Dennis and David Coulthard are not the best of buddies and the comments made after the Spanish Grand Prix certainly proved that. The team seems to believe that Hakkinen is the “God” of the team and every effort should be put into his car first. Well somebody ought to point out to them the current state of the world championship, and just how much higher David Couthard is compared to Mika Hakkinen and start giving David some better support.
I believe that a new driver should have been used right from the start of this season, as it would be very difficult to change drivers now. Both David and Mika seem to be good guys, but let’s face it, neither of them is going to win the award of Mr Personality of the year. I would imagine that if you were having a party and wanted everybody to go home then you could just put on one of Mika’s victory speeches. People would either go home or fall asleep.
Let’s hope that somebody at Woking can wake up this team and bring back some of the enthusiasm that Bruce McLaren had when he formed this team and make us proud again to say that McLaren is British.
Advantages: Good way to sell your team Disadvantages: A bit O.T.T. normally.
Every year, Formula 1 teams try to go one bigger and one better than their rivals and certainly better than the year before.
This is not restricted to their track performance. They also do it at their launch parties.
This year however, the parties were somewhat subdued by normal standards.
Here are what each team did.
Arrows.
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March 2001. Melbourne, Australia.
Left it very late this year after crash test problems and a rush to get the ... ...for the cameras and a pose from the drivers in March 2001 at the Albert Park Circuit 2 days before the start of free practice. They were not alone in this type of launch.
Ferrari.
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29th January 2001. Marenello, Italy.
An early start for Ferrari shows their eagerness to repeat their success. Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello were present. Plenty of celebrations and thanks to all sponsors from team boss Jean Todt and owner, Luca ...
andycharger 16.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of McLaren
Advantages: Ferrari's biggest rival, English Team, Coulthard and Hakkinen Disadvantages: Bad season for Hakkinen, Coulthard needs to be supported more
McLaren boss Ron Dennis has always offered the majority of his support for Mika Hakkinen a.k.a The Flying Fin, but in this season (2001) Mika hasn't been performing to his usual standard. But it isn't just the 2 time World Champion's fault, the McLaren car has failed him several times, including one unfortunate break-down on the last lap of a race in which Mika Hakkinen seemed sure to win. This season (2001) seems to be in favour of Ferrari driver ... ...McLaren were known to have the bet car, winning them many victories especially when Ayrton Senna drove for them, Hakkinen was 2nd to Senna until Senna's untimely death in the San Marino Grand Prix, which was possibly because of debris remaining on the track. Coulthard has always had the potential to be champion but has been (until recently) overshadowed by Mika Hakkinen.
McLaren are Ferrari's only real threat, although William's have done exceptionally ...
PunkRockRulez2001 22.05.2001 (31.05.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of McLaren
Advantages: Brilliant car. Well funded team. Two great drivers. Disadvantages: Some reliability problems this season
McLaren the British-based Formula I team are one of the most successful motor racing teams in history. Formed in the late 1960's this team has won numerous grand prixs and are currently with Ferrari the best tean in Formula I racing. They are a well funded team and have arguably the best driver pairings of any team. Mika Hakkinen has won the world championship twice and David Couthard is undeniably a potential world champion. Currently he is second ... ...are few niggling problems facing McLaren ,one is the apparent loss of form of Hakkinen,but he is a pretty determined driver and I believe he would like to win a third world championship very much. David Couthard had the terrible experience of an air crash but seems to have survived the ordeal remarkably well. The message is-never write off McLaren! ...
ashford 23.06.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of McLaren
Advantages: Consistently excellent Disadvantages: We still haven't seen the best driver in the best car.
...hat to the performance that Mclaren have produced over the past few seasons. While Hakkinen and Coulthard are quality drivers, they have the huge advantage of knowing that they start every weekend with the best machinery under them. While Ferrari tweak their car, Jordan are brilliant one week, awful the next, and the chasing pack seek to just try and get close, Mclaren are always there or ther abouts. The job that Ron Dennis has done over the years ...
welshpete 23.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of McLaren
Advantages: Appreciate their fans. Disadvantages: Ferrari don't appreciate their fans.
...garage was compacted with a McLaren simulator car, a 2-seater McLaren and Hakkinen’s 2000 race car laid out with McLaren pit crew dummies in the throes of a pitstop. A Mercedes engine, tyres, pitstop lollipop, Mercedes safety car and their own retail area next door completed the display. The presentations given by McLaren staff gave an insight into how the team copes at race weekends. The two television screens at either side of their garage ... ...around in Edinburgh. The McLaren shop was a haven for any McLaren obsessive with the added bonus of free gifts galore being handed out left, right and centre – free Bridgestone hats, McLaren race guides, McLaren pens, posters, Mika pin badges etc. McLaren certainly know how to treat their fans.
Which is more than can be said for Ferrari. At the 2000 show they had both team cars on display. This year having made a huge deal about becoming champions ...
hakkved 01.02.2001 (08.02.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of McLaren
To get straight to the point, I blame McLaren.
After all of the trouble that McLaren had with Ferrari, luckily Hamilton was allowed to keep his points that he had earned. You would have thought that McLaren would have wanted to forget about their troubles and concentrate on something brighter like a rookie winning his debut season.
There's many English racers, but for a rookie to do so well in his debut season is unheard of. This made the majority of England to start supporting McLaren as they wanted to see Hamilton succeed. This should have made McLaren take notice and to concentrate on helping Hamilton to win.
If Hamilton had won; all of their problems would have been forgotten by so many and with the records that would have been broken by a rookie winning his first season; this would have gone down in their history books ...
Advantages: Both Alonso and Hamilton have had a good season Disadvantages: Let down my McLaren, the media and the FIA
When it comes down to it, neither Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso is to blame. If anyone needs to be blamed, its the media and McLaren. Whilst Alonso did join the team as world champion, it was unextpected that Lewis would have such a spectacular year. You can understand Alonso expecting to the the most important driver on the team. Both Lewis and Alonso have made the occasional mistake thats then be used by the media to make more out of it. If there is blame anywhere, then its McLaren over the spying scandal. But in that case its the FIA that has blown it out of proportion with such an excessive fine. Looking back over the season, I think its better that Lewis didn't win the drivers championship in his first year as it makes a much better learning experience. So I say good luck to both drivers. ...
Advantages: A stunning season, the most gripping in recent years. The right driver won the title Disadvantages: Politics and petulant tantrums throughout.
repeat the success in 2006, albeit not quite as dominantly, and subsequently forced Schumacher in to retirement. Here was the greatest driver of them all, being beaten by a pup; it was time to go while he could still hold his head up high. Suddenly the driver market was alive - Schumacher was gone and some high-profile drives were up for grabs. Alonso was already moving from Renault to McLaren, Juan Pablo Montoya had left McLaren mid-season after a series of poor results and arguments with the team and Kimi Räikkönen was on his way to fill Schuey's boots at Ferrari. Just who was going to get that coveted second seat at McLaren?
The answer was Lewis Hamilton. A relative unknown, a pup from GP2 and a karting back-ground, McLaren's CEO, Ron Dennis, decided to go out on a limb and give his second seat to a junior driver, confident in ...
