gav Wrote:
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> I feel strongly that McLaren will be much better
> than you have predicted, Jim.
>
> They finished 2014 very much on the front foot so
> they clearly have an aggressive development
> structure which most importantly, works. Peter
> Prodromou seems to be making key changes at a rate
> of knots, so if he's had any time to influence the
> 2015 car they'll be much closer to the front.
>
> Of course, in the end it all depends on Honda. If
> the engine starts 2015 in the way Renault and
> Ferrari did 2014, then they can probably give up
> hopes of wins, but I feel if the engine is
> somewhere between Renault and Mercedes then
> they'll be second only to Mercedes. No chance of
> the title though, Alonso or not.
I can't help but agree. As much as I dislike Ron, since he re-took direct control of the team McLaren has started to look like McLaren again, and the team that's being put together has the potential - in the long term - to challenge Mercedes. The Honda engine will probably take a while to get fully up to speed, but once it is I'm expecting it to be spectacular, and if their history in F1 is anything to go by, possibly the new benchmark for engine performance.
I think they'll have a modest start to the season but improve steadily, and by the final few races have a car that's good enough to challenge for race wins. Which, with Alonso driving, will probably guarantee a win or two.