29/04/2015
NEWS STORY
After four races, one must either take a 'glass half empty' or 'glass half full' approach in terms of McLaren's season thus far.
Whilst drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button dwell on the positives, fans are left pondering the facts; from six starts the cars have finished four times, completing 83.8% of the potential race laps, with a best result being the Spaniard's eleventh in Bahrain.
Nonetheless, three key members of the Woking team also believe the outlook is promising.
"Over the last couple of seasons, the team slightly lost its way aerodynamically," admits chief engineer Peter Prodromou. "It became obvious that if we'd carried on with the previous concept, there'd only be so much we could achieve.
"So we've begun to establish a new aerodynamic concept, and a different way of working, too. That new concept has majorly shaped where the team's heading in the future."
Director of engineering Matt Morris, points to a restructure which has resulted in a different philosophy and a faster way of working.
"People within the organisation feel more involved in the car than perhaps they've done in the past," he says. "Before we restructured, some people felt they were just doing what they were told rather than being part of the process. Now, people feel more empowered: a piece of the car is theirs, and they take pride in that.
"Even though we aren't yet where we want to be, our people can see that we're getting there."
"There's been a huge change in overall culture and philosophy," adds team boss Eric Boullier. "At every level of the company, there is clear leadership. We agree the direction we want to pursue, and we bring people with us. The attitude has changed from ‘telling' people, to ‘asking' people; we've integrated people, and we share opinions and ideas.
"The main outcome of that new approach is that people now have a sense of ownership in the car. And they're more motivated and interested as a result. To give you an example, I guess about 50 per cent of the upgrades we brought to the track last year didn't completely work; this year, we've brought that down to about five or 10 per cent."
"We're much more structured in the way we bring new parts to the track," says Morris. "The rate of progress is much faster, so we don't need to build as many new components, because we know they'll be updated in just a few races' time. That speeds up the whole process."
"There's tangible change at the factory, too," adds Boullier. "We've invested in some new Mazak machines and updated and upgraded a few old ones. In doing so, we've been able to increase our in-house manufacturing capability by around 30 per cent - which makes our development cycle lighter, faster and more flexible."
And then there's Fernando and Jenson.
"The driver line-up has made a big difference," says Boullier. "Jenson's attitude and feedback have always been phenomenal, but this year he's raised his game again. Our drivers are really committed: they're world champions, they want to win again, they believe in the project, and they're pushing hard. They don't leave anything on the table in terms of performance, which is fantastic."
"We're massively privileged to have Fernando and Jenson as our drivers," adds Prodromou. "I can't overstate how privileged we are - it's a very good position to be in. Aside from their talent, and ability to win races and championships, they are without a doubt the most important sensor fitted to the car. That might sound glib, but their feedback is incredibly important, and they do a brilliant job. They're pretty good sensors."
Looking ahead...
"The 2016 regulations aren't significantly changing," says Morris, "and we're not going through the process of introducing a new engine, as we've done for the last two years (2014's Mercedes, and this year's Honda), so we'll keep developing. A lot of what we learn at the track this year will naturally evolve into next year's car."
"Next year's car will be an evolution of this year's, so we need to keep developing it right until the final race," adds Prodromou.
All very positive, but more than a hint of 'the lady doth protest too much', don't you think?