2007 F1 Preview: McLaren
March 7th 2007 12:15
Car Number 1:
Chance for a hat trick
Stats
D.O.B: 29 July 1981
Debut: Australia 2001, Minardi
Starts: 88
Wins: 15
Fastest Laps: 8
Poles: 15
Points: 381
To find reasons why Alonso won’t succeed at McLaren is to pick lemons from an apple tree. Such is his talent and tunnel-visioned focus that one must invent their own metaphors in order to describe it with originality. His tenure at Renault yielded two titles for the Spaniard, a feat that many would see sufficient enough to rest upon for the rest of their comfortable careers. Alonso however is a different beast. He is hungry for success, and his appetite is unlikely to ever be satisfied, which is why he switched to Dennis’ camp in the first place. Winning two titles for Renault (formerly Bennetton remember) then leaving to begin a new era with a big name team keen to get back on top sound mighty familiar doesn’t it? We’ve seen it before with Michael Schumacher and we’re seeing it again with Fernando Alonso.
Car Number 2:
Rookie sensation
Stats:
D.O.B: 7 January 1985
Debut: Australia 2007, McLaren
Starts: 0
Wins: 0
Fastest Laps: 0
Poles: 0
Points: 0
Anybody who saw young Lewis Hamilton in GP2 would be hard-pressed to argue that he doesn’t belong in Formula One. A highly exciting and highly entertaining brand of aggressive driving gave Lewis the championship in 2006, but there are some who believe that F1 might still be too deep a pool for the Englishman to dive into. The jury is still out on that question, Hamilton’s testing pace has been there, but his knowledge of the circuits and general conduct over a Grand Prix weekend will take some time to develop. Alonso’s presence will help Hamilton enormously, as the Spaniard will impart a great heaping of knowledge unto his rookie teammate, and also relieve him of a great deal of pressure. For Hamilton, 2007 is all about learning the ropes, accumulating knowledge, points and by the year’s end perhaps a race win or two.
The Team
Vodaphone McLaren Mercedes
Starts: 614
Wins: 148
Fastest Laps: 130
Poles: 125
Points: 3249.5
WDC: 11
WCC: 8
Team Principle: Ron Dennis
Test Drivers: Pedro de la Rosa (Esp), Gary Paffett (GBR)
The MP4 in all it's shiny glory
There are a number of reasons why, starting most blatantly with his new, shining star Fernando Alonso. The bain of McLaren’s existence in 2005, Alonso forced Dennis to succumb to the motto: “If you can’t beat him, hire him,” and he moved very quickly to snatch the double-world champion for 2007 and beyond.
Last year was a bit of a throwaway for McLaren. Nobody was focused on the job at hand. Raikkonen’s head was several places up the grid, at Ferrari. Montoya’s was fantasising about tossing Dennis over a cliff edge racing in America, and Dennis was dreaming about a fresh start in 2007. With this McLaren diverted development attention from the MP4-21 towards their 2007 effort halfway through last season.
Timesheet topping in pre-season
Mercedes are doing their part also. They offered a strong engine in 2006, the second-highest revving unit, in fact, and are sure to provide another cracking motor.
With immense wealth, impeccable engineering depth, fantastic facilities and a brilliant driver pairing, Vodaphone McLaren-Mercedes is looking good. Good enough for championships? Definitely.
In a Nutshell:
Strengths: Arguably the best driver paring on the grid; awesome facilities; a welcome air of fresh, exuberant confidence.
Weaknesses: Hamilton may need a few races to acclimatise; the full effect of Newey’s departure is yet to be realised.
Scoreboard:
Drivers: 9/10
Engine: 8/10
Chassis: 8/10
Resources: 9/10
Personnel: 9/10
Total: 43/50
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