From Expecting P4 to Finishing P15: How McLaren’s Grand 2022 F1 Plans Collapsed in a Span of Weeks

The 2022 season has moved to the second race of the season. All F1 teams are in Saudi Arabia for the race weekend. But McLaren has a lot of stress about the Jeddah race after their devastating performance in Bahrain. Meanwhile, their 2021 year rivals, Ferrari, had a phenomenal start this season.

McLaren and Ferrari are rivals who were fighting for the third-place finish on the constructor’s table last year. However, this season, the tables have turned as instead of Mercedes, it is Ferrari who are fighting for a place at the front of the grid. Although the English constructor showcased a decent performance during their Barcelona pre-season testing. Things started to turn for them as they stepped foot into Bahrain.

McLaren Team Principal’s crushed expectations

The Honey Badger Daniel Ricciardo had to miss out on the Bahrain test because of illness. In addition, the team also ran into an issue with brake cooling. For this, McLaren came up with a temporary solution. However, it probably lowered the MCL36’s performance, which was noticeable in the Bahrain race. McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl expected a P4 finish in Bahrain. But the first race was a disappointment after Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris finished P14 and 15.

McLaren Team Principal Andreas Seidl said, “In Barcelona, it was a positive test because the car was working well straight out of the box. But we never underestimated the potential of teams that are usually fighting up at the front.

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“So that’s how we left Barcelona, to be honest. I think we left Barcelona still seeing us in a position that we could fight at least for this, let’s say P4 again, at the first race of the season, which we obviously haven’t been in a position at all the entire weekend,” Andreas concluded.

Can McLaren fight at the front in 2022?

Seeing their results in the first race this season, it is a bit hard to imagine the Woking base fighting at the front. All in all, McLaren didn’t have a great run so far in the 2022 season, and both their drivers Norris and Ricciardo seem to struggle with the car.

Like McLaren, other Mercedes-powered cars also struggle in the first race, but McLaren’s team principal doesn’t want to make an excuse that the Mercedes PU was the reason for their defeat. And this is due to the fact that the Silver Arrows used the same power unit and they still managed to finish closer to the dominating teams in Bahrain.

At the moment, wins and podiums don’t seem to be at a hand’s grasp for the English constructor. The team is currently in Saudi Arabia for the second race. But they might not have all the solutions to improve the 2022 challenger. However, as the season progresses, McLaren might find their pace and may join the battle at the mid-field with Haas and Alfa Romeo.

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For now, let’s see how much Mclaren improved over a week for the Jeddah race. It would be fascinating to see if Daniel and Lando can bag some points for their team or not.