The McLaren Formula One team is currently enjoying a renaissance following years of languishing in the lower regions of the championship. The team which is second only to Ferrari in Grand Prix wins last tasted title glory with Lewis Hamilton back in 2008. Yet even then the signs of decline were evident.

The championship was McLaren’s to lose the previous year but unable to manage his duelling drivers, Ron Dennis eventually backed Lewis Hamilton over Fernando Alonso for the title. This of course sent the trackside crew into chaos and such was the animosity between the team mates, they needlessly cost each other valuable points during the year, allowing Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari to sneak in and claim both F1titles.

 

 

 

McLaren long, slow decline

Yet there was a big change coming down the line and this would see Mercedes deciding to buy their own works team. To this point McLaren had been the de facto Mercedes works outfit having been partnered with the German brand over the supply of F1 engines since 1995. However, Ron Dennis (TP) knew the writing was on the wall as soon as the news broke Brawn GP had sold to Mercedes for the 2010 season.

Despite coming second or third in the constructors’ championship between 2010-2012, McLaren knew Mercedes would eventually get on top the harmonisation woes between chassis and engine and with the departure of Lewis Hamilton from Woking in 2013, the team slumped to its worst finish to an F1 season (P5) since 1983.

Worse was to come for F1’s second most decorated competitor. A switch to the ‘Johnny come lately’ Honda V6 turbo hybrid in 2015 proved disastrous. The Japanese manufacturer had started to design and build their V6 Turbo hybrid power years later than had the likes of Mercedes and Renault. 

Over 19 Grand Prix weekends, the Honda power unit suffered 14 terminal failures including two ‘did not start’ classifications for Kevin Magnussen, who was standing in for Fernando Alonso, and Jenson Button. Fernando famously complained over the team radio that year his misfiring Honda powertrain was no better than a “GP2 engine” – the junior series a step down the ladder from F1 at the time.

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New triumvirate structure employed

McLaren ditched Honda thinking a partnership with Renault who had dominated the end of the V8 era would improve their fortunes. Whilst results did improve and the Woking team even came third in 2020, fences were being mended and McLaren returned to the Mercedes fold for 2021 where they have remained.

Under the leadership of Zak Brown, the management structure at Woking has undergone a significant restructure over the past two seasons. Team principal Andreas Seidl left to be part of the Audi project and Andrea Stella assumed the reigns last year. 

The Seidl designed car was quickly binned after scoring just 17 points in eight rounds and a new design was introduced for Lando Norris at the Austrian GP. Next time out the British driver eulogised over the redesigned MCL37 and sailed home to claim the second step on the podium at the British Grand Prix.

McLaren were back and over the final two thirds of the 2023 season scored more points than everyone bar Red Bull and Lando Norris scored more points than any other driver bar Max Verstappen.

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Brown posts “mega!” as new recruits start

The beginning of Stella’s reign as TP saw he and Zak Brown announce the poaching of two key individuals from rival F1 teams. David Sanchez was head of vehicle concept and performance at Ferrari but had previously done a five year stint in Woking joining for Lewis Hamilton’s rookie season.

The French engineer then left for Maranello in 2012 and was expected for form a triumvirate of technical managers all reporting into Andrea Stella.

Less than three months ago, Zak Brown posted: ”McLaren fans, join me in welcoming David Sanchez and Rob Marshall to our already experienced and talented Technical Leadership Team.

“Mega! Let’s get to work!”

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Not so “mega” obviously

Well that didn’t last long. Today McLaren has announced another new technical structure with David Sanchez leaving his position as technical director of car concept of performance.

Having moved from the structure which includes just one technical director, McLaren split the department into three each with separate figures overseeing each area.

McLaren moved away from a sole technical director role last year and instead split its department into three, with separate figures overseeing each area. In an updated arrangement, Rob Marshall has assumed the role of chief designer following his arrival from Red Bull.

Neil Houldey has now been moved to the technical director of engineering role while Peter Prodromou will continue in his role as technical director of aerodynamics.

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Sanchez survives just 13 weeks

“I am grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of this team,” Sanchez said of his exit.

“While the role we envisioned and had agreed to was not aligned with the reality of the position I found, I leave with respect for the leadership, admiration for the dedication of my colleagues, and appreciation for the openness and honesty in which we discussed and arrived at this decision.

“I wish this team continued success as it continues its journey to the front of the grid where it belongs. I look forward to my next challenge within F1.”Additionally, the concept and performance department will be shifted to focus on performance and will be led by the technical director of performance.”

In the meantime, Andrea Stella will step into the Sanchez role while a permeant replacement is found.

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Poorly defined role

“This further step in the evolution of the structure of the Technical Department and of the working model within the team signifies our commitment to constantly enhancing our technical capabilities and workflows for greater efficiency and effectiveness,” Stella said.

“Following thoughtful discussions between David Sanchez and the team leadership, the mutual decision has been taken for David to leave the team.”

Clearly Stella accepts that at the time of Sanchez recruitment, the role he was targeted for was ill conceived.

“Upon our joint reflection, it became apparent that the role, responsibilities, and ambitions associated with David’s position did not align with our original expectations when he agreed to join us in February 2023.

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Little effect on performance expected

“Recognising this misalignment, both David and I agreed that it would be best to part ways now, so to enable him to pursue other opportunities that will better leverage the full scale and breadth of his remarkable skillset.

“We greatly and gratefully value the contributions that David has made during his relatively short time with us, and we wish him the best in his future endeavours.”

Having spent the best part of a year on gardening leave from Maranello, Sanchez is less than 13 weeks into his new role with McLaren and then leaves??? This is a bizarre mistake for both parties to make.

Fortunately from Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s perspective, the impact of losing Sanchez should be minimal given the car they are driving was designed before his input was available. McLaren are enjoying their best start to a year for some time and lie third in the F1 constructors’ championship with more than double the points of arch rivals Mercedes.

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Ricciardo jibe backfires as Lawson lined up for Miami

Daniel Ricciardo hopes of remaining in Formula One may be hanging by a thread. If certain reports are to believed, the likeable Aussie has just the upcoming races in Japan and China to prove his worth or risks being replaced by Liam Lawson.

The eight times Grand Prix winner lost his way having moved to McLaren following a two year stint at the then named Renault team based in Grove. Two years of being soundly beaten by his team mate Lando Norris saw Ricciardo shown the door a year before his McLaren contract expired…. READ MORE