Despite employing some of the brightest minds in motorsport, McLaren's engineers are still scratching their heads as to why the Woking team is struggling so badly this year.

After ending a 20-year partnership with Mercedes-Benz at the end of last season and reuniting with Honda for the first time since 1992, it was inevitable that their new relationship would bring initial teething problems. However few could have predicted the extent of McLaren's troubles.

The revival of the famous McLaren-Honda partnership inevitably evokes memories of past glories and in turn raises expectation levels for a team that last won the constructors' title in 1998 and has failed to win a race in the last two seasons.

Completing fewest laps during pre-season testing than any other team on the grid that participated set initial alarm bells ringing however there appeared to be a consensus in the paddock that fortunes would change as the season progressed. That has not been the case.

While the reliability of the MP4-30 has been inconsistent, to blame all of McLaren's woes solely on their partnership with Honda would be far too simplistic.

McLaren's performance during its final year with Mercedes power in 2014 did little to inspire confidence in the team going forward and while a strong finish at the recent Hungarian Grand Prix lifted the spirits of those in the McLaren camp, questions remain over whether the team has the capability of replicating that level of performance on a regular basis in the second half of the season.

Team figures often proclaim that improvements are imminent yet tangible progress is hard to distinguish when McLaren is regarded as one of the top teams in Formula One yet has struggled to rectify its early season woes.

McLaren remains a team that appears to be hindered by internal conflict. Signing Eric Boullier as racing director from Lotus last season was initially something of a coup for McLaren and coincided with the return of Ron Dennis as chief executive officer yet the new partnership has failed to blossom thus far.

It is also unusual for McLaren's veteran driver pairing of Fernando Alonso - who remains one of the sport's top earners and whose pre-season crash in Barcelona remains something of a mystery - and Jenson Button to be wearing largely plain overalls and drive a car with a distinct lack of sponsorship logos. Alonso appears to be committed to the cause in the long-term however Button's future remains uncertain.

Companies will not have gone cold on McLaren overnight, however the positives of sponsoring one of Formula One's heritage teams currently do not appear to outweigh the negatives. Major brands are unlikely to want to be associated with a team that is suffering from a chronic lack of pace and performance.

McLaren seem to have all the right ingredients to mount a serious championship challenge in the future, however the team is currently in a prolonged rut that it must get out of sooner rather than later if it is to turn back time and relive the glory days of its past.

Andy Alston

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by GLS-BrooklynNY, 05/09/2015 0:08

"Some suggestions on the McLaren-Honda F1 Engine Complex Integration struggle:

I understand the legend behind McLaren and Honda of the past and it is natural
to repeat that feat again and again. I respect Honda but I love McLaren for their engineering prowess. The new 2014 Turbo era has more challenges thrown up at chassis designers and engine manufacturers. A winning team needs : an efficient chassis that works with an optimum drivable engine and winning drivers.
Of course real-time strategy and fuel research helps along with last year track telemetry data.
As an electrical engineer and software scientist, I have a few suggestions in this forum to make to McHonda engineers. The present problem is one of system integration across different engine components: ICE, Turbo, MGU-H, MGU-K units.How they co-operate and extract/store/use energy at every sample point to maximize speed, controllability and harvesting energy for the next k instants.with driver inputs impacting thru controls. This should be repeated millions of times thru automation. At every sample point, this HEC unit (Honda Engine Complex) (engine/ICE, Turbocharger, MGU-K, MGU-H) should be at peak coefficient every time. Recovery becomes important for the next k cycles. When the driver says not enough speed, the lack of speed must be mapped into the most likely component in the HEC.
This HEC integration testing(not racing) is very complex and time consuming for testing since it involves human elements (MMI) and driving is involved. Testing of software components is NP-complete (exponential in nature). Inadequate testing results if the required testing time exceeds available time window for testing. Here are some suggestions.

1) Analyze the telemetry: Take the last spa F1 race. Keep the actual HEC data versus McLaen simulation Data vs. Gold Standard Data(data from winner Mercedes-Hamilton gotten thru traps!) for key sample points on the track and find the deficiency and improve on it. Do not miniaturize features in HEC until
total picture evolves by extracting from each HEC component. Continue to do the HEC optimzation, one should extract any x/10th of lap speed in interfacing with new chassis artifacts side by side!

2) Use the veteran engineers to come up with new integration approach from the current one based on what one has learnt so far. Taking a different sequence of components for HEC integration, out of the box thinking, pushing for max performance with critical components and pass-thru's in other components to meet your limits, etc. are worth trying out. McLaren should include their own engineers in the HEC engine work to gain different views.

3) Add more expert level software engineers to the team and increase unit and integration testing.

4) Supply engines to one or two more F1 teams and more testing can be done to reach the winning setup.
5) Bring some mainstream EE and CS engineers and explain the high level functioning of the electro-mechanical HEC unit and invite them to ask any or all dumb questions. A couple of HEC engineers and CS guys can monitor and look for any alternate ways of thinking for any new implementations that gives advantages.
6) A block diagram with HEC components, Driver controls and inputs, chassis and sensor outputs will be helpful for race audience!
7) Using multiple new engines at different levels of tuned performance and try them out one by one after a few laps of testing during testing days before race to evaluate their performance is worth taking the largest penalties as they are doing now. The setup on the track on testing days can include settings on the HEC complex in addition to chassis tuning. This way they can test different levels of HEC performance in every few laps!

Looking at Mercedes F1 team, they have done a tremendous job in the ICE engine integration work. Their recent model rollouts indicate well-grounded approach in integration. Hats off to them! They deserve to enjoy Success!"

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2. Posted by IDR, 31/08/2015 15:54

"I'm afraid there are not so many financial resources around McLaren F1. Develop a F1 car from a blank piece of paper, targeting to be a champion challenge, requires big amounts of energy, talent and consequently money.Honda is paying Engine development and F Alonso. There should not be so much money for the rest for a Team without main sponsor."

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3. Posted by RP, 28/08/2015 13:46

"The FIA and F1 management continue to wring their hands as the parade continues. The occasional break provided by Ferrari will not change the end result. As you can see in these comments and, in other forums, the fans have identified the major problem - no testing. Mercedes got it right the first time and the restrictions placed on the sport could let one forecast the result. The other manufacturers can't catch up bringing new parts to a race weekend. Ferrari made a great step last winter but, as we all see, it isn't enough.
The next significant point, repeated again and again, is the attempt by F1 to stifle innovation, not encourage it. Sad for the former pinnacle of motorsport.
The fans keep identifying and describing solutions and F1 and FOM seem illiterate."

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4. Posted by GrahamG, 26/08/2015 5:33

"Yes it's a management problem and Ron's return has actually been a huge negative - if he wasn't a major shareholder questions would surely have been asked. But also there is the greater issue of over regulation. In the past (even the quite recent past - see Brawn F1) a team without huge resources could innovate their way out of a problem or up to the front of the grid, now any hint of innovation is immediately crushed. Also does it make sense to have to bring incredibly expensive new parts to a race rather than being able to test out ideas between races. "

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5. Posted by petes, 26/08/2015 5:06

"Gave you a negative there Rock Doc....

You want a team that has achieved but is failing miserably because of themselves, EVEN with sponsorship, well try team Willy. Absolute, no-brainer, losers. PLUS, they even have the best engine, so negative it has to be I'm afraid."

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6. Posted by Spindoctor, 25/08/2015 7:39

"The Management of McLaren has been and still is pretty woeful. I'm a huge fan of Ron Dennis, but he needs to stop interfering; move away from the car and employ the best talent to design & run it.

Another, more damaging problem is the current regulations, particularly the development\testing ban.
The whole competitive landscape of F1 is now based on positions set by the introduction of the Hybrid Formula in 2015. Honda, as late-comers got a few concessions, but essentially they're playing an impossible game of "catch-up". The ludicrous "token" system taken with an insane penalty regime and virtually zero on-track testing means that their only hope of catching-up is blind luck.
Chassis development is similarly constrained. If a team's car isn't competitive in March, it'll be little better at the end of the season. Tweaks and\or huge revisions might hit a sweet spot, but its more pot-luck than hard work or brilliance. This has worked against McLaren and all the other teams, except Mercedes whose car was, and still is superior to all-comers and is likely to remain so until there is some substantial change in regulation.

Solving the "Problem like McLaren" would also solve a lot of F1's other "problems". All the other teams are also stuck with packages whose performance for the season is effectively "frozen" at whatever level they hit at Race 1. Even when they do improve in-season, Mercedes seems able to move up in lock-step.
The only rational way to resolve all this without a wholesale re-writing of the Formula & Regulations (which is the best solution) is to remove all the limitations on power plant development, and allow extensive and meaningful in-season testing.

Alternatively there is the "clown suit" option where Hamilton (and occasionally Rosberg) must pit at least once during the race and change into a clown suit, thus giving the others a slim chance of catching up....."

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7. Posted by Rock Doc, 24/08/2015 15:38

"McLaren has lacked sponsorship for many years now. I think a lot of F1 looks at McLaren with rose-tinted glasses based on the past.

The management of this team has been abysmal. Looks at the Belgium Grand Prix. Other than Red Bull opting to run no rear wing at all, the race was dominated by the best engine.

It was the best engine last year as well, by some margin. So why go for Honda. Rose-tinted glasses again succeeding where common sense should be.

McLaren needs a management enema to get back some true perspective. It seems to be working for Ferrari, so why not for them. Only time will tell, but I fear they don't have that much time left."

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8. Posted by f1khun, 23/08/2015 8:19

"I know, this is what you say at the bar. But truly; I just see regulations in the way of racing. New regulations which have proven to be too limiting on the potential of achieving equality.

I meant "I know, this is what you say at the bar. But truly; I just see LIMITATIONS in the way of racing. New regulations which have proven to be too limiting on the potential of achieving equality.""

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9. Posted by f1khun, 23/08/2015 5:33

"McLaren and Honda cannot catch up this season; Ferrari did it in the winter and still hasn't reached Mercedes yet. Renault (if still around) may catch up during this coming winter and Honda maybe the winter after. That is how restricted this has become.

In-Season testing may cost money for the teams, the racing gets better because of it. The FIA should allow 6 weekends during the season for testing directly after the race (Mon& Tue or Tue and Wed). Teams need this, Engine suppliers need this and Tyre suppliers need this. And: Fans will be already there because of the F1 race and it simply becomes an extra income for the tracks, these few days extra.

The engine regulations focus on technical ability too much. What they should focus on is maximum Torque and maximum Horse Power. Which could free the engine manufacturers on how they achieve it, and the FIA can still hold on to the Hybrid Formula. Why not have a World Championship for Engines as well: Give point per race for Engines based on efficiency, Raw Power & Torque and laps completed and & mileage per Engine. A formula for this is easily achieved. And let the engine manufacturers use this championship to work harder with easier regulations; it breeds design talent.

I know, this is what you say at the bar. But truly; I just see regulations in the way of racing. New regulations which have proven to be too limiting on the potential of achieving equality.
"

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10. Posted by REV, 22/08/2015 16:20

"They should have stayed one more year with Mercedes to give Honda more time to prepare their engine. We've seen Ferrari take a big step up this year, and sooner or later Renault will do the same. That leaves Honda with a lot of catch up to do. Can they do this over the winter with so little testing before next season begins? Is this the way Button and Alonso want to end their careers?"

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11. Posted by Paul C, 21/08/2015 0:06

"Look at McLaren's woes in bringing Honda back into F1. Would you want to even try to start up a new team in 2016 in this situation unless you were connected as well as Haas is with Ferrari? "

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12. Posted by alfsboy, 20/08/2015 22:01

"Not sure major brands want any other team to have their name either .Not a great list of international big business on any cars "

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13. Posted by Yeyox02, 20/08/2015 20:41

"First: Second parts never were good. Second: The biggest problem in F1 right now is the lack of testing. When there is not testing ON TRACK nobody can evaluate designs, construction and performance of the Power Units and all their sistems."

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14. Posted by Willie, 20/08/2015 17:39

"Their troubles really started with that unreasonable fine a few years ago. The company has not been the same since. It's almost like no matter what they do, FIA will be there to kick them in the gonads."

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15. Posted by FormerF1Fan, 20/08/2015 17:32

"I'm all in favour of guest authors. Can we look forwards to Part 2, which is where presumably we will learn of "How do you solve a problem like McLaren?""

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How do you solve a problem like McLaren?

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