Opinion: is an electric SUV really the answer to McLaren's problems?
McLaren's road car division has financial problems. Jethro reckons they should look to the Formula One team for solutions Skip 1 photos in the image carousel and continue reading
On the face of it McLaren has everything. A rich history including the most iconic road car of all time, nine constructors' titles in F1, a personal story that takes in humble beginnings, personal triumph, outrageous Can-Am racers and cruel tragedy. Plus, it is dominating at the highest echelons of motorsport once again and has just announced a return to Le Mans in the Hypercar class. Oh, and the 750S is one of the greatest supercars ever made. What a dream.
Yet it has just been taken over by Forseven. What is Forseven, you might ask? Well, quite. The LinkedIn page proudly states it is 'crafting unforgettable cars that blend British luxury with visionary technologies, forever". It's true that nobody has forgotten any of the cars. Mostly because the company hasn't actually made any.
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Forseven is owned by CYVN Holdings, a fund backed by the Abu Dhabi government that has recently also acquired McLaren Automotive. It's 700 people strong, has a tech agreement with Chinese manufacturer Nio, is made up of notable ex-JLR staff and is described by the Financial Times as an 'all-EV British startup'.
Has your heart sunk yet? Mine too. To be fair, something had to be done. The road car division of McLaren has been haemorrhaging cash for years now and its former owner (Mumtalakat, the Bahraini sovereign wealth fund) has cried enough after some £1.5 billion of investment. It's been so disastrous that McLaren had to sell its incredible headquarters and lease it back to free up some money. You might like
Why the endless turmoil? I'm sure the full answer is deeply complex. But in a world where product is king, it can be boiled down to some very simple things: overproliferation of models in the early years; too many reliability woes; oversupply; cookie-cutter design. The knock on effect to all of this is historically poor residuals compared to Ferrari and Porsche's special models. Restoring buyer confidence when even fantastic cars like the 750S are half price seven minutes after the owner picks them up is very, very difficult.
How do you solve a problem like McLaren? I don't proclaim to know. But all the noises emerging from the dark recesses of the internet suggest Forseven's leaders hope the answer is, erm, an SUV with an EV powertrain. I mean, why not? It literally hasn't worked for anyone else, the entire concept is in direct opposition to McLaren's brand values and history and it doesn't address the real issues at hand with, for example, the Artura. But other than that it sounds a solid plan.
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The wildest thing of all is that the one guy I would trust to turn McLaren Automotive around works within the same building. His name is Zak Brown. He loves cars. He gets McLaren and he's made the F1 outfit (which CYVN has bought a much smaller stake in) a winning operation with an intelligent, fiercely competitive and consistent approach. It took him six years to get it back to the top, with many ups and downs along the way. The road car division is an even bigger project, yet Forseven claims to have a turnaround plan that will be executed 'at incredible pace'. Oh dear. Zak... have a word, will you?
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BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
Early qualifying exit incredibly painful
Belgian Grand PrixVenue: Spa Dates: 25-27 July Race start: 14:00 BST on SundayCoverage: Live commentary of practice and qualifying on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 with race on BBC Radio 5 Live; live text updates on BBC Sport website and app Lewis Hamilton says it was "incredibly painful" to be knocked out in the first session of qualifying and line up 16th for the Belgian Grand seven-time champion set a time just 0.009 seconds slower than team-mate Charles Leclerc in the session but had it deleted for exceeding track limits at the high-speed Raidillon corner."It's incredibly painful," said Hamilton, who was also knocked out in the first session of qualifying for Saturday's sprint race, after running wide on one lap and a spin on his second."It's turning out to be a pretty bad weekend so far."From my side I made a mistake so I've got to look internal and I've got to apologise to my team because that is just unacceptable to be out in both Q1s."It's a very poor performance for myself."Hamilton said he would review the incident with the stewards to try to understand what had happened."Everyone takes that kerb, it's probably the furthest I've been (over it)."The error was the same as one made by McLaren's Oscar Piastri in the second part of sprint qualifying on Friday, but the Australian had time for another run and managed to introduced a new rear suspension design for this weekend which was aimed at allowing them to run the car lower to create more downforce without running into problems wearing out the underbody too much, as well as improving drivability and has sounded lukewarm about the changes so far this qualifying, he said: "I was the same as I was for the rest of the weekend. We made some changes and the car didn't feel terrible."Just really sorry for the team. All the hard work on the filming day we did and all the preparation and we come here and don't go through Q1. It's not acceptable."We are trying to do the best with what we have and obviously everyone is working flat out back at the factory."We have had upgrades but I think that's probably it for the rest of the year and I think the first focus is now, back at the factory at least, to focus on next year's car. This season has been a tricky one."Leclerc was more positive about the car, after admitting to surprising himself by qualifying ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen behind the was 0.338secs behind pole-winner Lando Norris and just 0.003secs ahead of Verstappen, whose last lap was compromised by an error out of the first said: "It's an upgrade and it's a step in the right direction but we are still speaking about very fine differences over the whole lap."So it feels a little bit different and it's going in the right direction and again that's thanks to the hard work that the whole team has done back at the factory."Unfortunately for us, McLaren has also brought a few things this weekend and seems to have done a small step in the right direction as well so it's very difficult to close the gap but I think we are doing a good job as a team and we just need to keep working."Rain is expected to hit the Spa track for the grand prix, but F1 rules prevent teams making changes to their cars between qualifying and said: "I don't think there's really much we can do so I will just start from where I am and see where I can go from there." What to expect in the race Norris goes into the grand prix nine points behind Piastri in the championship, after losing one further point by finishing third, one place behind the Australian, in the sprint race earlier on lost the lead - and eventual victory - to Verstappen on the first lap of the sprint on the long run to the Les Combes chicane because of the power of the slipstream, but wet weather should make it easier for Norris to keep the rain would also add a lot more jeopardy for everyone - Spa is notoriously difficult in the said: "It's probably going to rain. I don't know much more than that, so we'll wait and see."It's also Spa, so higher chance of rain. But that can also mean that it just sometimes hits half the track and the other half stays dry."So could be in for just a chaotic race, similar to Australia or Silverstone, the ones that are just sometimes a bit in the middle. But most likely some rain and some drizzle."We're going off the front, so hopefully I can just make advantage of that and clean air and go from there.""We have the best car so that's the most important thing."Rain might give Verstappen a chance to challenge the McLarens that he might not have had starting behind in the Bull ran a low-downforce set-up for the sprint but have added more downforce for the grand prix expecting the wet the four-time champion said winning "will be tough".Verstappen said: "First of all, if it's wet you can't really see anything so you can't really do anything in lap one."I hope we can fight back to a podium but normally in the wet the McLarens are also very fast, the have that really under control with how the inters are working. So I am not under any illusions."Leclerc said he expected to struggle if it was wet, on the evidence of the year so far, and the previous rain-affected race at Silverstone."Wet weather, I don't think it's a strength for our car at the moment," Leclerc said. "We are really struggling."But having said that, every weekend is different. We'll learn from the past and see what's possible tomorrow. I will only be able to tell after the first few laps to see where we are. But I'll try to look forward before looking in mirrors."
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Lando Norris edges out McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri to claim pole in Belgium
Norris finished third, a place behind McLaren team-mate Piastri in the earlier sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps, but the British driver bounced back to secure his second pole in three races. Charles Leclerc took third for Ferrari but team-mate Lewis Hamilton's weekend took another nightmare twist after he qualified only 16th. LANDO NORRIS TAKES POLE AT SPA!!! 🤩 Oscar Piastri finishes just behind his team mate while Charles Leclerc is third quickest 👏#F1 #BelgianGP — Formula 1 (@F1) July 26, 2025 Max Verstappen – who won the first Formula One race staged following Christian Horner's dismissal as Red Bull team principal in Saturday's 15-lap dash – was fourth, one position clear of Williams' Alex Albon, with George Russell sixth for Mercedes. Piastri extended his championship advantage over Norris from eight points to nine and appeared to hold the upper hand over his team-mate heading into qualifying. However, Norris delivered with his first lap of Q3 to hold a near two-tenth advantage over Piastri heading into the concluding runs and – although he failed to improve, and Piastri did – it was enough to take first place as he looks to build on his wins in Austria and Silverstone. Norris qualified six tenths behind Piastri in Friday's qualifying and he said: 'Everyone was quite worried after yesterday. But I was always confident, so it is nice to get back on top. 'The car has been flying all weekend and Oscar and I have been pushing each other a lot. You can see each other's strengths and weaknesses (on the shared team data) so that makes it a tough battle.' Rain is forecast for Sunday's 44-lap race, and Norris continued: 'I prefer it to stay dry. But I don't mind if it is wet, or dry, or somewhere in the middle. I just hope it is an exciting race.' Hamilton, who started 18th and finished 15th in the earlier sprint race earlier, was eliminated in Q1 for Sunday's main event after his best lap was chalked off by the stewards. The Briton thought he had done enough to haul his Ferrari into the next phase of qualifying when he posted the seventh best time. But moments later, his lap was deleted after he was adjudged to have run all four wheels of his Ferrari off the circuit at Raidillon. That dropped him way down the order. 'Is everything OK?' Hamilton asked on the radio. 'Track limits,' replied Hamilton's race engineer, Ricardo Adami. 'Am I out?' Hamilton replied. 'Lap time is deleted, P16,' came the response. There was no response from the 40-year-old who is left to reflect on another sobering result of his difficult start to life at Ferrari. Hamilton, who spun in qualifying for the sprint, enters Sunday's race without a podium for Ferrari – the deepest he has gone into a season in his career without a top-three finish. Hamilton's replacement at Mercedes, Kimi Antonelli, also failed to emerge from Q1 and will start 18th, with both Aston Martins on the final row of the grid following a dismal qualifying session for the British team. Fernando Alonso will line up from 19th, with team-mate Lance Stroll 20th and last. Ollie Bearman finished an impressive seventh in the sprint, but then qualified 12th as he complained the start of his final lap was compromised by Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda.
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Lando Norris edges out McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri to claim pole in Belgium
Norris finished third, a place behind McLaren team-mate Piastri in the earlier sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps, but the British driver bounced back to secure his second pole in three races. Charles Leclerc took third for Ferrari but team-mate Lewis Hamilton's weekend took another nightmare twist after he qualified only 16th. LANDO NORRIS TAKES POLE AT SPA!!! 🤩 Oscar Piastri finishes just behind his team mate while Charles Leclerc is third quickest 👏#F1 #BelgianGP — Formula 1 (@F1) July 26, 2025 Max Verstappen – who won the first Formula One race staged following Christian Horner's dismissal as Red Bull team principal in Saturday's 15-lap dash – was fourth, one position clear of Williams' Alex Albon, with George Russell sixth for Mercedes. Piastri extended his championship advantage over Norris from eight points to nine and appeared to hold the upper hand over his team-mate heading into qualifying. However, Norris delivered with his first lap of Q3 to hold a near two-tenth advantage over Piastri heading into the concluding runs and – although he failed to improve, and Piastri did – it was enough to take first place as he looks to build on his wins in Austria and Silverstone. Norris qualified six tenths behind Piastri in Friday's qualifying and he said: 'Everyone was quite worried after yesterday. But I was always confident, so it is nice to get back on top. 'The car has been flying all weekend and Oscar and I have been pushing each other a lot. You can see each other's strengths and weaknesses (on the shared team data) so that makes it a tough battle.' Rain is forecast for Sunday's 44-lap race, and Norris continued: 'I prefer it to stay dry. But I don't mind if it is wet, or dry, or somewhere in the middle. I just hope it is an exciting race.' Hamilton, who started 18th and finished 15th in the earlier sprint race earlier, was eliminated in Q1 for Sunday's main event after his best lap was chalked off by the stewards. The Briton thought he had done enough to haul his Ferrari into the next phase of qualifying when he posted the seventh best time. But moments later, his lap was deleted after he was adjudged to have run all four wheels of his Ferrari off the circuit at Raidillon. That dropped him way down the order. 'Is everything OK?' Hamilton asked on the radio. 'Track limits,' replied Hamilton's race engineer, Ricardo Adami. 'Am I out?' Hamilton replied. 'Lap time is deleted, P16,' came the response. There was no response from the 40-year-old who is left to reflect on another sobering result of his difficult start to life at Ferrari. Hamilton, who spun in qualifying for the sprint, enters Sunday's race without a podium for Ferrari – the deepest he has gone into a season in his career without a top-three finish. Hamilton's replacement at Mercedes, Kimi Antonelli, also failed to emerge from Q1 and will start 18th, with both Aston Martins on the final row of the grid following a dismal qualifying session for the British team. Fernando Alonso will line up from 19th, with team-mate Lance Stroll 20th and last. Ollie Bearman finished an impressive seventh in the sprint, but then qualified 12th as he complained the start of his final lap was compromised by Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda.
