Henry
you can type in red all you want... but the facts are set. Around it you give it your interpretation.
You are entitled to your opinion. And I respect it. But to come out and say that this season witnessed the meltdown of a once great team I think is well just your opinion.
Let me start by saying that McLaren had not won anything in a number of years. So this season is not really that different from the recent past ones...
Two second place finishes in the WC in the last five years with suspect equipment and no controvercy. That's not bad.
In fact one could argue that it was a good year for them to finish with a good shot at the WDC.
Integrity is what makes a team great, not performance. Of course this is my interpretation but that's how I see it. There have been many great teams in F1 that have lacked front runner status.
So to say that McLaren this year tumbled from its previous glory days is a little bit stretched. When was the last DWC won? Was it Mikka? When was the last time they clinched the WCC?
The tumble (your word) comes on two levels, lost integrity and opportunity lost. By any measurement McLaren threw away a great opportunity and as I stated "showed the world their ass.
Fastest driver... difficult to say.... But McLaren lost Kimi and gained Alonso at the beginning of this season... wanna call it even? [color=blue] not even close]
Time charts and statistics don't lie.Keep in mind that so far in his corear Kimi has never had a dominat car.This years Ferrari was close to even with the McLaren
Kimi Raikkonen Vs Fernando Alonso
Career Comparison
....................................Kimi Raikkonen................... Fernando Alonso
Number of Races...........122............................... ......103
Wins.............................15 (12.30%)...................... 19 (18.45%)
Poles............................15 (12.30%).......................17 (16.50%)
Podiums.......................48 (39.34%)........................47 (45.63%)
Points..........................454............... .......................476
Retirements..................38 (31.15%)........................23 (22.33%)
Fastest Laps.................25 (20.49%)........................11 (10.68%)
Titles.............................1.............. ........................... 2
Head2Head Comparison
(105 Races).................. Kimi Raikkonen................. Fernando Alonso
Wins.............................15 (14.29%)......................19 (18.10%)
Poles............................15 (14.29%)......................17 (16.19%)
Podiums.......................44 (41.90%)......................49 (46.67%)
Points..........................432............... .................... 490
Retirements.................28 (26.7%).........................23 (21.90%)
Fastest Laps................24 (22.86%)......................11 (10.48%)
Finished Higher............48.............................. ........49
Finished Higher
when both finished.......33................................. ....29
Note: finished higher when they both finished and the all important fast laps. When you look a poles vs fast laps you start to get the picture. Fred doesn't even get fast laps when he drives the fastest car.
Next... You yourself has just agreed with my point. When you say that McLaren is guilty of receiving stolen property you are absolutely right! I did not say they were not guilty...
But they did not steal them. I am just rectifying some of your observations.
If they conspired (McLaren and Stepney) McLaren is equally guilty of steeling. Did they conspire to steel the data? I'm not sure but it's not a stretch.
Your next point is totally on target. McLaren failed to make Alonso feel (for whatever reason) welcome or loved and his departure is the biggest blow to McLaren organization.
Even assuming that Hamster caved in under pressure and made 2 mistakes (none of which were really his fault, right?
NO The team didn't call him in to change the tires and the gearbox went blank for 40 seconds) you cannot deny that he did pretty well for his 1st season....
Hambone raced with Kimi when there was no reason to do so. That unnecessary on track struggle prematurely expended his tires. Try to remember that Fred and Kimi had equal time on their tyres and neither experienced the problems Hambone did.
Tyre management is the responsibility of the driver. To blame the team because the tyres were mismanaged is ludicrous.
As for the transmission, as we all know F1 equipment is fragile. Hambone slammed his McLaren over the curbs on his off track excursion trying to repass Fred and that move may have damage his car causing the transmission malfunction. Why would he force the issue with Fred? ego? All he had to do was follow along and finish 4th (a relatively simple strategy) and win the WC. Blame the car is you like but that sounds like a lame excuse.
I think McLaren here gained one on last year...
One step forward and two steps back. Once lost, integrity is hard to find.
I could not agree more with your last statement....
Peace?
There was no conspiracy. If you believe what you wrote you need help.