McLARENS BLUFF?

[t-maxx]

did you here what barachelo said about mclarens lack of pace lately. he thinks its a bluff so they can hide how great the mp4/19 really is. when you think about it he could be right. when they launched the car it was stunningly fast but now its seconds off the pace why would a car suddenly loose so much power. although they really could be in trouble i doubt it very much. guess we have to wait for melbourne.

[levensnevel]

Don't read to much in all those stories and ' quotes'
It's all pre-season cloak and dagger stuff meant to create a hype around F1.
As the saying goes: The bullshit stops when the flag drops :fadein:

[t-maxx]

i realise that but it is strange that they are so far off the pace. some1 other than those red wankers needs to win. be that mclaren, williams or renault. but i hope mclaren win and dc has his best season ever so he can get that toyota drive next year. give toyota maybe 2 years and they will push their way into the top 4 teams. i think renault may go down hill now that mike has left for toyota.

[scubywrxr]

I think renault is going to be the dark horse of the season with ferrari and williams setting the pace at the front. Mclaren are certainly off the pace in testing, but the results at the chequered flag at melbourne will tell us the truth! remember that one engine has to last the entire weekend, and that is going to be the greatest challenge! :D

[S0300182]

Don't read to much in all those stories and ' quotes'
It's all pre-season cloak and dagger stuff meant to create a hype around F1.
As the saying goes: The bullshit stops when the flag drops :fadein:

So Tru guess we have to w8 for melbourne

[kteo2003]

these tests in fact don't proove anything...but i 've read that mclaren has problems with the new more powerfull engine.as for the toyota....what this team does is to copy ferrari so unless something changes it will never reach the top..although i 've heard that has the 3rd most powerfull engine.

[ae86_16v]

I think renault is going to be the dark horse of the season with ferrari and williams setting the pace at the front. Mclaren are certainly off the pace in testing, but the results at the chequered flag at melbourne will tell us the truth! remember that one engine has to last the entire weekend, and that is going to be the greatest challenge! :D

I think people won't be as surprise as last year about Renault. Dark Horse? Maybe Toyota?

[Game-R]

So Tru guess we have to w8 for melbourne
Maybe... but isn't it McLaren tradition to always start the season rather behind and catch up and lead towards the end?

[S0300182]

So Tru guess we have to w8 for melbourne
Maybe... but isn't it McLaren tradition to always start the season rather behind and catch up and lead towards the end?

Maybe so but thingz change and after being so close to the championship last year i think they mite just push a bit more

[kteo2003]

i also agreee that if mclaren wants to win they have to be aggressive from the beginning or else they will end up like last year...

[yg60m]

I don't know what to think about Mclaren, they seemd very strong at the beginning but now they navigate in the middle and they officially declare that the package had to be improve, that the car we will se on the first race will be MP4/19 etc ...
Bluff or not ? I think they really have problems but hope they will be strong because i love this team. :|

[vanquish]

------------------------------Raikkonen sets the new lap record----------------------

Valencia - 19/02/04
1. K. Raikkonen - McLaren-Mercedes MP4/19 - 1'08"995 - 69 laps
2. M. Webber - Jaguar R5 - 1'09"096 - 128 laps
3. R. Schumacher - Williams-BMW FW26 - 1'09"406 - 76 laps
4. J.P. Montoya - Williams-BMW FW26 - 1'09"436 - 119 laps
5. D. Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes MP4/19 - 1'09"493 - 106 laps
6. T. Sato - BAR-Honda 006 - 1'09"615 - 94 laps
7. J. Button - BAR-Honda 006 - 1'09"706 - 82 laps
8. R. Zonta - Toyota TF104 - 1'10"092 - 120 laps
9. A. Davidson - BAR-Honda 005 - 1'10"292 - 53 laps
10. C. Da Matta - Toyota TF104 - 1'10"733 - 56 laps
11. C. Klien - Jaguar R5 - 1'11"323 - 124 laps

Jaguar was surprisingly strong!
seems like Mclaren was hiding its speed. Cant wait Melbourne!

[campank]

I am a die hard McLaren fan, but I'm still not convinced. There is nothing to say that Kimi's time was made with an empty tank. Remember the car caught fire yesterday.

If McLaren was sandbagging why would you reveal the true performance of the car three weeks out, why not surprise everyone on either the week leading up to Melbourne or in qualifying.

nevertheless I hope this is the sign of things to come. :D

-K

[ae86_16v]

I am a die hard McLaren fan, but I'm still not convinced. There is nothing to say that Kimi's time was made with an empty tank. Remember the car caught fire yesterday.

-K

Really?!?! Wow :lol: .

But yeah, they shouldn't show it now. I forgot who said this, might have been MS, but basically saying that both the MP4/19 and the FW26 has yet to show that they could be significantly fast over the long run, they seem to be just fast w/ one lap or so, but never consistent.

We'll see. . . can't wait for the season to start.

[Tsjilp]

If I was Montoya I would take a good look around in his last year with BMW ... and try to make the mclaren as fast as the BMW in 2005 ... or is this too easy ?

[t-maxx]

3 weeks isnt a long time. if mclaren are now showing their real speed then 3 weeks isnt long enough for others to change something that will make such a huge performance increase. i now think they were sandbagging and are trying to make others panic, if they panic them they make mistakes and that means great news for mclaren. 3 weeks is to long to wait.

[ae86_16v]

This was just posted. . .

"McLaren's new MP4-19 racer needs more power and more reliability.

"That was the distinctly downcast appraisal of runner-up champion Kimi Raikkonen on Thursday as he mused on disappointing test-results of the pre-season period.

"He told Autosport: 'I guess we need more horsepower but it is not so easy to find. I'm sure we are not on the level of BMW (Williams) or some others.

"'First we have to try to get [the car] to be reliable.'

"Analysts predict the main problems as on the new Mercedes-Benz V10 powerplant, which has been 'turned down' in a last-ditch bid to get it to last the distance.

"New rules in 2004 require that just one-engine (per car) be used all weekend.

"Raikkonen, 24, and team-mate veteran David Coulthard didn't impress the pace at a recent Barcelona session but Kimi reckons McLaren knows what the problem is.

"'So hopefully we can improve,' he added. 'There is still work to do on the car but at least it seems to be more reliable now. Now it's just the speed.'

"Poor reliability has had an adverse affect on car-development, said Kimi.

"He concluded: 'They say a solution (to the engine problems) are coming. For most of the problems there are solutions - it's just that fixing it takes time.'"

- F1 Central.com

[t-maxx]

well kimi seems to have found pace at the latest test so who knows. teams dont usually let their drivers speak so honestly about the problems they heve so maybe kimi is being told to say they have some problems which comes back to the whole sandbagging thing.

[bmwfreak]

I fear for McLaren. I really do. while my nick suggests where my allegiance lies, it would be tragic for the Woking outfit to not deliver on some of the promise they showed in winter testing.

Yes, i am cheering for Juan and Ralf to win, but McLaren have always been my second team (You just had to love Mika, didnt you?) Kimi is Quick. Coulthard will be resigned to having the perenial role as supporting actor.

It is not secret that BMW has been producing the most powerful F1 engine in recent seasons, and no one denies that that is the case this year. Cast your mindback to 98 and 99, where McLaren Mercedes had the best engine around.

In spite of my distaste for anything MB (with the exception of the SL55AMG/SL65 and the SLR), I just wish that McLaren get their act together, and make this a season to remember.

[ae86_16v]

It is not secret that BMW has been producing the most powerful F1 engine in recent seasons, and no one denies that that is the case this year. Cast your mindback to 98 and 99, where McLaren Mercedes had the best engine around.


It's funny how you should mention these years. With the exception of 1998, Ferrari not having the most powerful engine won all these years.

You are right though, McLaren Mercedes need to get their act together especially when they have such talented drivers in Kimi and David. Williams BMW on the other hand has a great car but there is just too much fighting between the drivers and the team, drivers and each other.

My bet again is on Ferrari. With surprising finishes from Jaguar and Toyota.

[ae86_16v]

Seems that the MP4/19 is really really fast this year. Almost a couple of seconds less than 2003 season in that track! And it's not Jaguar who is going fast, it's just Webber... just look at Klien.

Not quite. . . 10th and 12th Qualifying isn't all that fast at all :) .

[levensnevel]

Everything is relative:
Last year both Coulthard and Raikkonen qualified even worse (11th and 15th)
And we all know the endresult: Coulthard won the race, Kimi finished 3rd and Schumi 4th and Rubinho scored a DNF.

[espen]

We do however know that McLaren have gone through a pile of engines lately while testing, while BMW have stated somewhat surprisingly that they now produce as much power as last year despite the 800km limit.

McLaren may have been pushing too hard in testing, but they may also have a reliability problem. If the engines do not last, then they may still have the fastest car over a few laps, but it seems Ferrari and Sauber are doing something right with Bridgestone as their lap times in testing have been consistantly competitive over good many laps.

My hopes go out to Sauber and McLaren, but mye head says Ferrari or possibly Williams, although I think Renaults speed is downright unlikely considering their ancient engines - theyre 70 or 80hp down on BMW. God knows what will happen when their new engine arrives! :shock:

ae86_16v; sorry but I cant resist... I also look forward to the odd surprising finish by Jaguar ;)

[ae86_16v]

ae86_16v; sorry but I cant resist... I also look forward to the odd surprising finish by Jaguar ;)

Yeah, I do too. . .

I love cheering for underdogs, so let's go Webber, Button, and Sato.

1. MS
2. Rubens
3. JPM
4. Alonso
5. Ralf
6. Button
7. Kimi
8. Webber

[ice]

Good guesses. Maclaren are truly in a heap of trouble. Not only do they have absolutely no reliability, they have no speed either. If anyone sandbagged, it was Ferrari. Each of thier laps was about a second faster then the rest!!!

It might be another 2002 season, but of course iit is a bit early to say. Ferrari, in what little time they have had to develop the F2004, is clearly the fastest. Also, Renault's are very quick, and paried with Alonso it could be a great season for them.