The F1 thread

stickyfiddle

The new McLaren is VERY orange..!

stickyfiddle

It's a a bit much under studio lighting, but I think it looks really great here: 

Fretwired

stickyfiddle said:

It's a a bit much under studio lighting, but I think it looks really great here: 

It will look good on TV.

Boromedic

About bloody time they dragged the orange out again

stickyfiddle

Yup. I think it's got hints of "stegosaurus" too  

I really hope it's quick. I even like their team kit this year. I might even buy a hat if they're not backmarkers!

chillidoggy

WTF are all those little tabs? Looks like Hammond organ bits.

stickyfiddle

Nando seems happy...  He was problem just smiling because it didn't blow up...!

https://twitter.com/McLarenF1/status/967015529008517122

sinbaadi

High hopes for the McLaren.  Looks very good, and hopefully a more positive winter for them with the prospect of some Renault reliability (and performance).  
The Sauber/Alfa looks good too, and Halo is not too disturbing, but you can't help imagining the cars without it.  Oh well, I don't want to see a driver killed by a bouncing tyre again, and it won't affect the actual racing in the slightest, so no real complaints from me.  The Indy car screen looks nicer though.

Heartfeltdawn

Boromedic said:

About bloody time they dragged the orange out again

They did last year. Plenty of orange every time an engine died. 

sweepy

Orange was the official test car colour, maybe they are going to be sponsored by Guantanamo Bay ?

Boromedic

Heartfeltdawn said:

Boromedic said:

About bloody time they dragged the orange out again

They did last year. Plenty of orange every time an engine died. 

Hahaha, I like their optimism this year but they forget how much the Renault engine imploded last year too. Better than Honda obvs but Red Bull had some terrible reliability with them.

Heartfeltdawn

sweepy said:

Orange was the official test car colour, maybe they are going to be sponsored by Guantanamo Bay ?

A prize to anyone who can Photoshop Alonso on the Interlagos deckchair into a Guantanamo Bay scenario... 

Garthy

sinbaadi said:

High hopes for the McLaren.  Looks very good, and hopefully a more positive winter for them with the prospect of some Renault reliability (and performance).  
The Sauber/Alfa looks good too, and Halo is not too disturbing, but you can't help imagining the cars without it.  Oh well, I don't want to see a driver killed by a bouncing tyre again, and it won't affect the actual racing in the slightest, so no real complaints from me.  The Indy car screen looks nicer though.

This is proper squeaky bum time for both Mclaren and Honda. One of them is going to have egg on their face come November, Mclaren have got to be nipping at RBRs heels and beating Renault outright to salvage their reputation and put the ghosts of the last three seasons to bed. Well five seasons really as Merc handed them their arse on plate in 2013 & 2014.

Cols

stickyfiddle said:

The new McLaren is VERY orange..!

Well... there’s plenty of space left on the car for sponsors.  I hope Mclaren’s backers have very deep pockets, they’re certainly not going to have much sponsor or prize income this year.

simonk

Cols said:

stickyfiddle said:

The new McLaren is VERY orange..!

Well... there’s plenty of space left on the car for sponsors.  I hope Mclaren’s backers have very deep pockets, they’re certainly not going to have much sponsor or prize income this year.

It’s mostly the Bahrain Royal Family, and they don’t seem to be short of a bob or three.
Be nice to see McLaren further up this year... Nando looks a bit happier than he has done the last couple of years.

darcym

Mclarens sponsorship situation is more telling, in the Kimoa is all over the car and team wear, which is Alonso company, a fashion brand. So either as part of keeping Alonso, or in an attempt to lower Alonso's fee (whatever way you look at it) they have to put prime space on the car and team wear to his personal business venture. 

The 'big' Dell deal doesn't look that big, the prime sponsorship position is taken up by champagne brand, which while I'm sure they are getting good cash for doesn't strike me as a the type of money a huge partnership/title sponsor would bring (although obviously I don't know the money involved, it could be amazing) Petrobras fuel.....big money there, but not in F1, always been a player with small teams, never really a big hitter fuel partner (they did have a good run with Williams though at one point).

while nice to see a reboot of the Mclaren image post Ron, and a nod to the heritage of the orange colour scheme, it really doesn't feel like a strong position, but hopefully the car and engine will be strong.

Fretwired

McLaren are close to announcing a major sponsor.

Cols

simonk said:

Cols said:

stickyfiddle said:

The new McLaren is VERY orange..

Well... there’s plenty of space left on the car for sponsors.  I hope Mclaren’s backers have very deep pockets, they’re certainly not going to have much sponsor or prize income this year.

It’s mostly the Bahrain Royal Family, and they don’t seem to be short of a bob or three.
Be nice to see McLaren further up this year... Nando looks a bit happier than he has done the last couple of years.

There is that; basically McLaren is owned by Mansour Oijeh and the Bahrain sovereign investment fund, who have plenty of money.  However, the Bahrainis have invested in McLaren to make money; as I understand, ditching Honda means the loss of $100 million per year in Honda backing and having to pay for customer Renault engines, which I'm guessing is another $20 million per year.  That's a hell of a funding gap to fill for one year; things will need to turn around quickly and return to sustained profit to avoid the F1 side of the operation becoming a money pit.

I very much hope that, as Alonso says "Good times are coming"... and soon.

darcym

Fretwired said:

McLaren are close to announcing a major sponsor.

any ideas on whom / details ?

Fretwired

darcym said:

Fretwired said:

McLaren are close to announcing a major sponsor.

any ideas on whom / details ?

No. It will be at the test on the first day I think.