Motorsport Week
  • Formula 1
    • Formula 1 Calendar
    • Championship Standings
    • Team/Driver Line-Up
    • Session Results
  • Formula E
    • Championship Standings
    • Formula E Calendar
    • Session Results
  • WRC
    • WRC Calendar
    • Championship Standings
  • MotoGP
    • MotoGP Calendar
    • Team/Rider Line-Up
    • Championship Standings
  • IndyCar
    • IndyCar Calendar
    • Championship Standings
  • WEC
    • WEC Calendar
  • More
    • IMSA
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • NASCAR
    • DTM
    • WSeries
    • Extreme E
    • Dakar
    • Technical Insight
    • Galleries
    • About/Contact
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Register
  • Formula 1
    • Formula 1 Calendar
    • Championship Standings
    • Team/Driver Line-Up
    • Session Results
  • Formula E
    • Championship Standings
    • Formula E Calendar
    • Session Results
  • WRC
    • WRC Calendar
    • Championship Standings
  • MotoGP
    • MotoGP Calendar
    • Team/Rider Line-Up
    • Championship Standings
  • IndyCar
    • IndyCar Calendar
    • Championship Standings
  • WEC
    • WEC Calendar
  • More
    • IMSA
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • NASCAR
    • DTM
    • WSeries
    • Extreme E
    • Dakar
    • Technical Insight
    • Galleries
    • About/Contact
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
Motorsport Week
Home General

Will Mercedes power propel McLaren back to the top?

by Graham Harris
1 year ago
0
F1 bosses set to vote on sprint races, engine freeze and more

Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Mercedes AMG F1 W11 and Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing RB16 at the start of the race. Portuguese Grand Prix, Sunday 25th October 2020. Portimao, Portugal. FIA Pool Image for Editorial Use Only

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

There’s no doubt that 2021 is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing and exciting seasons of Formula 1 in a long time. It’s already seen some notable driver changes and the arrival of a new constructor in Aston Martin after the takeover of the British supercar manufacturer by Racing Point boss Lawrence Stroll.

Importantly the teams are running with basically last year’s car after the proposed regulation changes were postponed to the 2022 season. But one team that will be revolutionised, despite no changes for the 2021 season, is the Woking squad McLaren as it returns to Mercedes power for 2021. The team hopes that this could bring them back into the big time… 

The headline change for McLaren for the 2021 season is their return to Mercedes engines following some disappointing years using both Honda and Renault power.

The move to Honda instantly drew comparisons to the days when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost piloted the all-conquering MP4/4 during the 1988 season, and it was expected, especially given that the team had Fernando Alonso as a driver during the new Honda days that McLaren could try and recapture some form.

Of course, this was not to be the case, and this particular partnership would be marked by Alonso’s infamous expounding that Honda’s engine was a “GP2 engine”. Moving back to Mercedes power should constitute a return to form following years of the team languishing in the midfield.

There’s a certain parallel that can be drawn to the past with the rekindling of this particular partnership; back in 2007, McLaren-Mercedes had signed up a young British driver by the name of Lewis Hamilton, and now, in 2021, McLaren-Mercedes have a young British driver named Lando Norris.

It is entirely plausible that with this combo of a faster car and skilful drivers that McLaren may just end up challenging for the driver’s or constructor’s title. However, it’s important to note that this depends on a few things – most notably, for McLaren to have any chance, Mercedes themselves would need to have their dominance ended, and with new regulations now being pushed back until 2022, there might just be another year of the same old Silver Arrows domination.

It’s not just in engine providers that McLaren have changed as their driver lineup has also seen a bit of a shakeup for this upcoming season. Carlos Sainz has departed for Ferrari and the Australian Daniel Ricciardo has been poached from Renault.

The former Red Bull man brings a wealth of experience to the team in a bid to support Lando Norris who himself has been marked out as a rather good driver despite only being in the sport for a couple of years now. This, as with the engine situation, draws a parallel to the past – McLaren paired Hamilton with the experienced and former world champion Fernando Alonso in a bid to support him in his early years of development in the sport.

McLaren are currently seen as unlikely to challenge for either title by the bookmakers, with their odds for a Constructor’s Championship at 100/1 in the sports betting at William Hill, while Ricciardo and Norris are both 66/1 to win the title. 

Lando Norris (GBR) McLaren in the FIA Press Conference. Eifel Grand Prix, Thursday 8th October 2020. Nurbugring, Germany.

It could be argued that the move back to Mercedes may have increased the likelihood of both events happening, just as long as McLaren can continue to make strides in their incredible chassis development.

McLaren, if everything goes right for them, could end up being back on top of the Formula 1 grid. Before Mercedes entered the fray as a fully-fledged F1 team, McLaren did have a decent period of success, of course under Mercedes power. There’s every chance that this new era for the team could bring around a whole load of successes, both for them and up and coming drivers such as Norris and Ricciardo.

Share238Tweet149Share60

Related Posts

Vietnam organisers officially call off 2020 F1 round
General

Vietnam Grand Prix back on the menu?

3 weeks ago
FIA launches investigation into karting driver after podium salute
General

FIA launches investigation into karting driver after podium salute

3 months ago
F1 2022 will be ‘desperately close’ – Ferrari
General

Could 2022 deliver the unpredictability we all crave?

5 months ago
Load More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest News

Wrong to ban ‘not racist’ Piquet from paddock claims Verstappen

Wrong to ban ‘not racist’ Piquet from paddock claims Verstappen

June 30, 2022
Bottas: Alfa Romeo can target P4 after ‘massive improvement’

Bottas: Alfa Romeo can target P4 after ‘massive improvement’

June 30, 2022
Dixon: ‘Easy misses’ to blame for mixed form this season

Dixon: ‘Easy misses’ to blame for mixed form this season

June 30, 2022
Motorsport Week

© 2021 Motorsport Media Services Ltd

Other Links

  • About & Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Motorsport Monday

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Home
  • Formula 1
    • Latest News
    • Standings
    • Calendar
    • Team/Driver Line-Up
    • Session Results
  • Formula E
    • Latest News
    • Standings
    • Calendar
    • Session Results
  • MotoGP
    • Latest News
    • Standings
    • Calendar
  • WRC
    • Latest News
    • Standings
    • Calendar
  • IndyCar
    • Latest News
    • Calendar
    • Standings
  • WEC
    • Latest News
    • Calendar
  • Other
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
    • WSeries
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • NASCAR
    • Extreme E
    • Dakar
  • Galleries
  • About/Contact
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 Motorsport Media Services Ltd

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In