Why 2018 left McLaren with no one else to blame
With Honda out of the equation, 2018 was supposed to be the start of McLaren's return to the top - but the absence of the Japanese manufacturer just revealed more fundamental issues at the team
It is one of the time-worn tropes of Hollywood storytelling, and a pillar of the classical three-act structure, that the hero of the piece must at some point be sorely tested and laid low. Whether delivered to rock bottom by accident or their own hubris, our hero then dusts themselves down and through some form of equally challenging self-improvement proceeds towards the resolution.
You might have thought that McLaren reached its nadir in 2015, when the team's much-vaunted new relationship with Honda delivered little in the manner of results, but plenty in the way of festering rancour. Then - after brief glimmers of hope in 2016 - '17 proved similarly wretched, costing the head of long-time figurehead Ron Dennis.
Share Or Save This Story
The rookies looking to make their mark on F1 in 2023
Top 10 F1 Monaco GPs ranked: From Mansell to Moss
GP Racing Podcast: How Alonso's F1 fire still burns within
The mixed fortunes of F1 2021's rookie crop
The joy of the travel and the chase in Formula 1
What to expect from F1's rookie trio in 2021
One-shot qualifying: In defence of F1's flawed TV gamble
The real-life racing rogues stranger than fiction
BTCC Brands Hatch: Hill takes the title as Sutton wins thriller finale
Exclusive: Hulkenberg: Haas is going to be a serious competitor in the years to come
BTCC Brands Hatch: Ingram back in the hunt with victory
Quartararo: “Unacceptable” to run out of fuel again in Japanese GP
When McLaren conquered F1 and the Indy 500
How Hulkenberg transformed his F1 career with Haas
Jon Noble: Why even F1’s cleverest minds get lost in explaining rollercoaster season
Can Alpine’s latest regime change shift its course?
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
