Posted on 15th December 2014
Like the 2013 season, McLaren has retained fifth place in the Constructors Championship behind their rivals Ferrari, Williams, Red Bull and Mercedes. However, it was apparent from as early as the 2013 pre-season testing period that McLaren had taken the wrong approach with the 'radical' MP4-28 and should have evolved their predecessor which was the MP4-27 the fastest car of the 2012 season.
During the 2013 pre-season test, it was found that after fitting their suspension the wrong way round and also illegally, McLaren lost up to two seconds on their rivals which made it extremely difficult for them to catch up to their rivals last season. As a result of this, McLaren since the 1980 season failed to get either of their drivers on the podium, even though during the second half of the 2013 season their current driver Jenson Button and their former driver Sergio Perez (more so Button) managed to find some performance on the track.
But the outstanding fourth place that Button achieved in the Brazilian Grand Prix at least ensured that McLaren ended their troublesome 2013 season with their best result of the season. This was all the motivation that McLaren needed to ensure that the 2014 season was the year that McLaren produced a competitive car to try and get back to the front of the grid once again.
However before the 2014 season began, McLaren Group CEO Ron Dennis returned to lead the team “back to competitive ways†again. His first change in the McLaren team and its management structure was former Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh being sacked after many years with the team replaced by former Lotus Team Principal and McLaren Racing Director Eric Boullier, with the objective to “restructure the team and to deliver success†as quickly as possible.
In order for McLaren to work towards achieving this aim, they retained Jenson Button who brought with him fifteen years experience in the sport and to partner him, McLaren signed rookie driver (just like Caterham with Marcus Ericsson and Toro Rosso with Danil Kvyat) Kevin Magnussen who was promoted from Formula Renault 3.5 series after winning the title with DAMS team in his second year in the series.
However, the 2014 season has been a mixed bag for McLaren. From their performance in the pre-season test sessions, it was clear that the MP4-29 was a slight step forward from the 2013 car, but it still needed to a lot of work in order to get McLaren back to where they want and need to be on the track.
The first half of the 2014 season saw McLaren at the season opener in Albert Park score their first double podium of the season with Magnussen and Button (after it was announced that Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified from second place due to exceeding the fuel limit during the race) in second and third place finishes. From first impressions, it would seem that McLaren had learnt their lessons from last season and started their year as they really wanted to achieve after a dismal season last year.
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 just scraping enough to get lower points finishes. This then also saw their rivals Force India taking fifth place in the Constructors Championship and left McLaren with a lot of work to do in order to gain the place back and get ahead of their rivals in the process.
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 Magnussen in Austria and a remarkable fourth place finish with Button at their home race at Silverstone.
In the second half of the 2014 season, McLaren appeared to have taken small but significant steps forward with the development of their car that allowed them to regain and retain fifth place in the Constructors Championship ahead of Force India. By scoring points in every race since Belgium with either Button or Magnussen individually or collectively (even though Button retired in Singapore), it is clear that McLaren simply have built a car that is good enough to challenge for points when the opportunity is there but it is severely lacking the pace and the downforce to challenge their rivals Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull who finished ahead of them this season once again.
Even though McLaren did bring improvements to the car very quickly during the first half of the season (though they struggled during the Hungarian Grand Prix very badly), they continued this process as quickly as possible throughout the second half of the season in order to regain and most importantly retain fifth place in the Constructors Championship for a second consecutive season which has made all the difference.
Alongside this, speculation surrounding McLaren's 2015 driver line up has developed rapidly over the past few months. Many pundits and fans have been awaiting the news of who McLaren have signed for the 2015 season. Boullier has given several interviews to the media during the season that McLaren would look at “every viable option†regarding their driver line up for next year and have stated their intention to lure a big name driver such as Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel or even Lewis Hamilton to the team as they look to build the team for the future with their new engine supplier Honda who they will be reuniting with starting next season.
It has been announced this week that McLaren have signed Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button for the 2015 season, with Kevin Magnussen being demoted to a reserve driver in the team. On paper, it would seem that McLaren have picked the best two drivers on the grid that they feel is 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 will this reap any reward in 2015?
Jenson Button – 126 points /8th in the Driver's championship
The 2014 season saw Jenson Button outperform his team mate Kevin Magnussen in the Drivers Championship by 71 points as you would expect. Even though Button has managed to only just beat Magnussen in qualifying this season by 10 times to 9 times, he has finished more races and laps than Magnussen showing in the process that consistency and also experience is the key to beating your team-mate on a regular basis, even if Magnussen has outperformed him along the way.
Over the first half of the 2014 season, Button achieved mixed results on the track. He started off the year in Australia with a third place finish after Daniel Ricciardo was excluded from the race for exceeding the fuel limit. However, the next five races saw Button struggling to extract pace and performance from the car. Button was disappointed to have only finished sixth in Malaysia, seventeenth in Bahrain and eleventh in Spain especially which allowed Magnussen 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 Magnussen on the track as he would be expected to. At the Monaco Grand Prix, Button finished a credible sixth, with the next race in Canada seeing him finish in an astonishing fourth place in an action packed race in Montreal, then once again struggling with the car in Austria to finish out of the points in eleventh, then again an amazing fourth at his home Grand Prix in Silverstone and then finishing in the points in eighth place at Germany and tenth place in Hungary before the summer break.
In the second half of the season, Button showed his consistency even more than the first half. Button finished in a credible sixth place in Belgium, an eighth place finish in Italy and retired in Singapore with a power box failure which ended his record of finishing every race of the season thus far.
Despite the retirement in Singapore, Button bounced back with a fifth place finish in Japan. He then achieved two brilliant fourth place finishes in Sochi and Brazil where he was on form all weekend long. Button did struggle with the car in Austin in twelfth place and was beaten by Magnussen comfortably. Button ended the season however with a fifth place finish in the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
Even though Magnussen has achieved the best finish for the McLaren team this season with second place in Australia, it is clear that Button consistently and regularly has out shone his rookie 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 first 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.
Kevin Magnussen – 55 points /11th in the Driver's Championship
The 2014 season saw Kevin Magnussen been outperformed his team mate Jenson Button in the Drivers Championship by 71 points as we suspected the case would be. Magnussen 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, Magnussen has shown performances that many did not expect of him as a rookie driver in his first season in the sport and he has impressed many pundits and fans along the way as a result of this.
Even though it is to be expected that Magnussen would make mistakes along the way in his debut year in the sport (for example in Belgium where he received a penalty for forcing Fernando Alonso off the track while trying to overtake him), Magnussen has shown instead that he can consistently bring the car home to finish a race. Magnussen has been out-qualified by Button 10 times to 9 times, he also hasn't been able to always finish races with Button beating him 14 times to 3 times but he has given Button a run for his money along the way during this season.
Over the first half of the season, Magnussen just like Button achieved mixed results on the track. He started off the year in Australia with an amazing second place finish in his first Grand Prix after Daniel Ricciardo was excluded from the race for exceeding the fuel limit.
However, the next five races saw Magnussen just like Button struggling to extract pace and performance from the McLaren. Magnussen was disappointed to have only finished in ninth place in Malaysia, retiring in Bahrain due to clutch failure and then finishing in thirteenth place in Spain especially which allowed Button to outperform him on the track.
From the Monaco Grand Prix onwards, it would appear that Magnussen has tried to outperform and take the fight to Button who had the edge over him. At the Monaco Grand Prix, Magnussen finished in a credible tenth place, with the next race in Canada seeing him finish in ninth place in an action packed race in Montreal, then able to extract the pace with the car in Austria to finish in the points in seventh ahead of his team mate who finished eleventh, then finish seventh at Silverstone and finish in the points in ninth place at Germany and then out of the points in twelfth place in Hungary before the summer break.
In the second half of the season, Magnussen tried his best to take the fight to Button on the track but he still consistently brought the car home to finish in every race since his retirement in Bahrain in the early part of the season. Magnussen finished out of the points in twelfth place in Belgium and finished in tenth place in Italy and Singapore (even though Button retired from the Singapore Grand Prix with power box failure).
Magnussen struggled with the car in the Japanese Grand Prix and finished in fourteenth place but he bounced back a credible fifth place in Sochi, an eighth place finish in Austin where Button struggled all weekend with the car, a ninth place in Brazil and ended the year just out of the points in eleventh place in Abu Dhabi.
Even though Magnussen has achieved the best finish for the McLaren team this season with a second place finish in Australia compared to his team mate who finished in third in the same race, 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.
During the season, Magnussen has shown that his inexperience, failing to get to grips with the car, or suffering from reliability issues has not been able to show what he can do in the MP4-29. When he has had an opportunity to show what he can do in the car on the track, Magnussen can also just like Button be relied upon to bring the car home in the highest position possible.
Magnussen's first season in the McLaren team may have been a mixed bag, but some of his performances he has achieved during his rookie season in Formula One has impressed many people along the way. It is clear to me that Magnussen has done a credible job in his first season in the sport and just like his team mate deserves the chance to be retained by the team for another season.
Magnussen does have the potential and the talent necessary to improve in his second season of the sport with the McLaren team if he is retained for next season. But as we know, Magnussen will be the reserve driver for the team in 2015 and this could prove to be a solid move that will allow him to develop and improve as a driver and also maybe in outings in FP1 on Fridays get another chance to show what he can do with the car underneath him to deliver where it matters on the track to try and regain a race seat back with the team or if he is approached by another team on the grid in the future.
In conclusion, the McLaren team should be slightly proud of what they have achieved in 2014. To see in the first race of the season Magnussen and Button achieve a double podium for the team after the disappointment of 2013 was fantastic to see, even if they couldn't manage to achieve this result again during the remainder of this season.
With the first half of the season showing despite a few encounters along the way, McLaren showed that they had a competitive, consistent and reliable car to battle the midfield and get strong points out of Grand Prix even if their car wasn't the most competitive on the track which saw Force India at one stage ahead of them in the Constructors Championship.
But the second half of the season showed that McLaren did achieve some strong results despite not having a dominant car like their rivals by bringing updates quickly to the track to improve their performance. They may not have enjoyed battling for strong points finishes given the history and prestige behind the McLaren team, but without bringing these upgrades especially in the second half of the season; they wouldn't have been able to regain and retain fifth place in the Constructors Championship ahead of Force India.
Throughout 2014, Button was the most consistent during qualifying and the races like many expected him to be against his rookie team mate, but let us not forget that Magnussen was the driver with the prized accolade for the team with his second place finish in Australia while taking the challenge to Button especially in qualifying this season and also when the opportunity presented itself brought the car home.
Even though the futures of Button and Magnussen have now been confirmed by McLaren as of yet, their performance this season will ultimately provide the team with a strong platform to build upon and try to improve upon next season. With McLaren reuniting 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 2015 season.
It is imperative that McLaren learn their lessons from this season and show during the winter break and throughout the 2015 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 2015 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 under their new organisation and management structure under the leadership of Dennis and Boullier; while also being reunited with Honda power once again and the chance to maybe replicate the success of the partnership of season's past.
Sarah Jones
