Feature

F1i Team Reviews for 2019: McLaren

McLaren

The team picture

Constructors standing: P4, 145 points

Just a couple of years ago, McLaren looked like a dead team walking - complete with haunted hollow eyes and zombie shuffling. The once mighty squad finished second from bottom in the 2017 championship and were drowning under the weight of their disastrous partnership with Honda.

They bought their way out of that mutually assured destruction pact and took up with Renault instead, and duly managed a moderate recovery in 2018. But it still looked precarious and certainly didn't convince Fernando Alonso to stay, who decided enough was enough and headed for Le Mans instead.

But a strong new management team introduced by CEO Zak Brown together with a refreshed young driver line-up has nurtured those delicate green shoots of recovery and delivered a renaissance beyond anyone's expectations. McLaren became one of 2019's success stories - all the more so for being very unexpected - and eventually sealed the deal with their first podium in Brazil after a long five-and-a-half year drought away from the top.

©McLaren

Head-to-head

Carlos Sainz: P6, 96 points
Lando Norris: P11, 49 points

Carlos Sainz was always going to be the stand-out driver at McLaren in 2019, given that his team mate was a teenage rookie still rubbing his eyes in disbelief as he lined up on the grid in Melbourne back in March.

Sure enough Sainz finished ahead of Lando Norris in 13 out of 21 races, netting 66% of the team's championship points in 2019 as a result. He was also responsible for delivering that long-awaited brand new bit of silverware to the MTC trophy room with his fabulous podium in the penultimate race of the season.

But let's not overlook the very real achievements of Norris, who held his own despite a steep learning curve. He succeeded in out-qualifying Sainz 11-10 over the course of the season despite the fact that it was Norris' first taste of many of the tracks involved. No wonder F1 fans voted him their rookie of the year over the likes of George Russell and Alexander Albon.

Looking to the future

The only problem with McLaren's brilliant season in 2019 is that it really raises the expectations facing the team for next year. Will they be able to consolidate and build upon what they've just achieved?

We're backing the squad to succeed. There's a wealth of talent in Woking, all on top form both behind the wheel and in the backroom, providing solid foundations for the team to continue its recovery. A revolutionary new simulator due to enter service next year could also prove a game changer for the team.

Whether McLaren can make in-roads against the Big Three and compete for podiums on a regular basis is another question. But we're excited to see what Norris will be able do in his sophomore season, and to what new heights that will propel Sainz in turn. We only hope that it doesn't fracture the relationship between the two, which has looked like the most warm and genuine of any team mates on this year's grid.

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.