2015 Season Review: McLaren

The 2015 season saw the McLaren team move down from fifth place to ninth place in the Constructors Championship.

With rumours flying around in the latter stages of the 2014 season as to whom would drive for the team this season, McLaren finally decided to retain Jenson Button and poached Fernando Alonso from Ferrari, with many not being happy that Kevin Magnussen would only be a test driver this season after doing nothing wrong in his rookie season in the sport.

However, it was apparent from as early as the 2015 pre-season testing period that McLaren were going to struggle this season; given the fact that the Honda engine was not living up to expectations and was rumoured to be at least two seconds down on their rivals.

The 2015 pre-season test period did not go well for the team especially when Fernando Alonso suffered a heavy crash in the final test at the Circuit de Catalunya which saw him on the advice of his doctor sit out the first race of the season in Melbourne and letting test driver Kevin Magnussen take his place.

However, the 2015 season has been absolutely dreadful for McLaren. From their performance in the pre-season test sessions, it was clear that the MP4-30 was not the step forward from the 2015 car, but it still needed to a lot of work in order to get McLaren and Honda back to where they want and need to be on the track.

The first half of the 2015 season saw McLaren at the season opener in Albert Park saw Alonso retiring from the race and Button just missing out on the points in eleventh place; with many wondering if McLaren have managed a little step forward from pre-season testing.

However in the next five races, McLaren appeared to struggle once again to extract the pace and performance from the car and also get the best out of the Pirelli tyres to challenge for points on a consistent and regular basis. With these factors in mind, we either saw McLaren finishing outside of the points or retiring from the races due to engine problem, with their best results coming in Monaco with an eighth place finish from Button. This then just highlighted just how much work they need to do over the course of the year if they want to challenge for points finishes again.

Before the end of the summer break however and after the Hungarian Grand Prix, McLaren responded by bringing upgrades quickly to the track in order to improve their performances. These upgrades appeared to have helped McLaren slightly with extracting performance from the car and they managed to achieve a credible seventh place with Alonso in Hungary
In the second half of the 2015 season, McLaren appeared to have taken small but significant steps forward with the development of their car that either helped them at selected tracks or hindered them at others.

With Button scoring their last two points finishes in Russia and Mexico, with Alonso suffering from a lot of bad luck and having to retire the car or finishing out of the points; alongside the ridiculous grid penalties that both have received during the season which has upset many fans.

On paper, it would have seemed that McLaren have picked the best two drivers on the grid that they feel had been the correct decision for their first year back with Honda power in their quest to be at the front of the grid once again. But sadly, this decision at this moment in time hasn't paid off.

With Honda struggling to come up with solutions to their engine troubles alongside Button putting on a brave face in the media and Alonso even publically on his team radio declaring that the Honda engine was a “GP2 engine, argh, argh”, the spotlight will firmly be on the McLaren team in 2016 to see if they can get to back to where they used to be and firmly put an atrocious 2015 season behind them.

Jenson Button – 16 points /16th in the Driver's championship

The 2015 season saw Jenson Button outperform his team mate Fernando Alonso in the Drivers Championship by 6 points as you would expect. Even though Button has managed to only just beat Magnussen in qualifying this season by 8 times to 7 times, he has finished more races and laps than Alonso showing in the process that consistency and also experience is the key to beating your team-mate on a regular basis, even if Alonso has had some bad luck during the season.

Over the first half of the 2015 season, Button achieved mixed results on the track. He started off the year in Australia just out of the points with an eleventh place finish. However, the next five races saw Button struggling to extract pace and performance from the car. Button was disappointed to have retired in Malaysia, fourteenth in Bahrain and retired in Spain especially which allowed Alonso to outperform him on the track.

From the Monaco Grand Prix, it would appear that Button has been able to outperform and take the fight to Alonso on the track as he would be expected to. At the Monaco Grand Prix, Button finished a credible eighth, with the next races in Canada, Austria and Silverstone seeing him retire but before the summer break, he scored some points with an ninth place finish in Hungary.

In the second half of the season, Button showed his consistency even more than the first half, despite not scoring many points. Button finishing behind his team mate in fourteenth places in Belgium and Italy and retired in Singapore.

Despite the retirement in Singapore, Button again finished behind his team mate in Japan with sixteenth place finish. But he bounced back with two points finishes in Russia and Austin. Button did struggle with the car in Mexico in fourteenth place but still beaten Alonso comfortably. Button ended the season however with an fourteenth place in Brazil and a twelfth place finish in Abu Dhabi.

Even though Alonso has achieved the best finish for the McLaren team this season with his fifth place in Hungary, it is clear that Button consistently and regularly has out shone his team mate especially in races over the course of the season. As a result he has been able to show all the experience he has gained from his time in the sport that has helped him extract pace and performance from the car and bring it home.

Even though his future in Formula One with McLaren has now been decided, it is clear for all to see that if Button gets an opportunity to deliver on the track, he is just as good and fast as any of his rivals on the grid currently.

This season has shown that Button can be relied upon to get the best result possible in a car that might not be as competitive as they would like and that he truly deserves to remain in the sport for at least another year to utilise his experience and connections with Honda that could prove to be very handy to McLaren indeed in their second year back in partnership with each other. And I am truly happy that Button has been retained for next season, as without question Jenson Button absolutely; no question asked deserves to be in his seat in the team for next season.

Fernando Alonso – 11 points /17th in the Driver's Championship

The 2015 season saw Fernando Alonso been outperformed his team mate Jenson Button in the Drivers Championship by 6 points as we suspected the case would be. Alonso has challenged Button in qualifying all throughout this season but he has not finished ahead of him in qualifying, races or laps.

But despite this, Alonso has shown performances that many did not expect of him and has struggled with a lot of bad luck with problems with the car and the Honda engine that started back in pre-season testing when he suffered a high speed accident that forced him to sit out the first race of the season in Melbourne.

Even though it is to be expected that Alonso would need time to settle back into the McLaren team, Alonso has shown instead that he can consistently bring the car home to finish a race when everything goes as best as it can do. Alonso has been out-qualified by Button 8 times to 7 times, he also hasn't been able to always finish races with Button beating him 11 times to 8 times but he has given Button a run for his money along the way during this season.

Over the first half of the season, Alonso just like Button achieved mixed results on the track. He started off the year in Malaysia with a retirement which also saw his team mate retire too; with many wondering why Alonso moved from McLaren to Ferrari in the first place.

However, the next five races saw Alonso just like Button struggling to extract pace and performance from the McLaren. Alonso finished ahead of his team mate in twelfth place at Bahrain and then finishing out of the points in eleventh place at his home race in Spain.

From the Monaco Grand Prix onwards, it would appear that Alonso has tried to outperform and take the fight to Button who had the edge over him. With three consecutive retirements at the Monaco, Austrian and Canadian Grand Prixs, the pressure was on Alonso to perform on the track when Button was at least bringing the car home on the track.

Before the summer break, Alonso achieved two consecutive points finishes at Silverstone and scoring McLaren's best result of the season in Hungary with a fifth place finish.

In the second half of the season, Alonso tried his best to take the fight to Button on the track but he still suffered incredible bad luck with problems with the Honda engine. Alonso finished out of the points in thirteenth places in Belgium and eighteenth place finish in Italy and retired in Singapore.

Alonso struggled with the car in Suzuka, Sochi and Austin; finishing just out of the points in eleventh place in all three of these races, he then retired in Mexico and in the final two races of the season in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, Alonso finished in fifteenth and seventeenth places to round off an disappointing season.

Even though Alonso has achieved the best finish for the McLaren team this season with a fifth place finish in Hungary compared to his team mate who finished in eighth in the Monaco Grand Prix, it is clear that he has been unable to out-qualify and out-race his more experienced team mate Button, even if he has given him a run for his money even if he has suffered more than his fair share of bad luck along the way.

During the season, Alonsp has shown that despite suffering from reliability issues throughout the season, he has not been able to show what he can do in the MP4-30. When he has had an opportunity to show what he can do in the car on the track, Alonso can also just like Button be relied upon to bring the car home in the highest position possible.

Alonso first season back in the McLaren team may have been a mixed bag, but some of his performances he has achieved this year has impressed many people along the way; especially in Hungary. It is clear to me that Alonso has done the best job he could given the circumstances in his first season back with the team and Alonso does have the potential and the talent necessary to improve in his second season of the sport with the McLaren team if they can sort out the issues with the Honda engine.

In conclusion, the McLaren team shouldn't be proud of what they have achieved in 2015. But to see glimpses of what McLaren and Honda can achieve with the points finishes that both Alonso and Button battled hard on the track to achieve can only be seen as encouragement for the team heading into the 2016 season.

They may not have enjoyed battling for strong points finishes when they could, given the history and prestige behind the McLaren team; but without these points, things could have looked a lot more bleak for the Woking team.

Throughout 2015, Button was the most consistent during qualifying and the races like many expected him to be against his more experienced team mate, but let us not forget that Alonso was the driver with the prized accolade for the team with his fifth place finish in Hungary while taking the challenge to Button especially in qualifying this season and also when the opportunity presented itself brought the car home.

Their lack-lustre performances this season will ultimately provide the team with a strong platform to build upon and try to improve upon next season. With McLaren staying with engine manufacturer Honda next season, the McLaren team need to ensure that they can bring everything that they can to in order to improve their performances from this season and close the gap to their rivals as much as possible over the winter ready for the 2016 season.

It is imperative that McLaren learn their lessons from this season and show during the winter break and throughout the 2016 season more significant steps and improvement on the track to take the battle to their rivals Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes who will also be looking to improve or even maintain their current form going ahead into the 2016 season.

It is now time for the McLaren team to work hard over the winter, to use the resources and personnel that they have at their disposal provide their two drivers which will be racing for them next season with the tools to deliver and gain back another position or two (if they can) in the Constructors Championship as McLaren continue to build themselves up for the future; while also ensuring that Honda improve and find solutions with their engines as quickly as possible in order to get the chance to maybe replicate the success of the partnership of season's past.

McLaren have got to improve next season and improve fast without losing even more ground to their rivals, it will be hard but I know that they can do it with everything that they have at their disposal.

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa