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McLaren Indy 500 washout was a comedy of errors: 'We defeated ourselves'

INDIANAPOLIS — The comedy of errors that doomed McLaren's disastrous return to the Indianapolis 500 began months before Fernando Alonso failed to qualify for the race. How bad was it? A week before Alonso's first test in the car, the team realized it didn't even have a steering wheel. McLaren CEO Zak Brown acknowledged Monday the team was woefully unprepared, and small oversights snowballed into the final result. Bob Fernley, the head of the operation, was fired hours after Alonso missed the race, and Brown returned to England to digest the embarrassment of his venture. Brown on Monday provided The Associated Press a detailed timeline of the bloopers and blunders that led to Alonso missing the race, the last piece the two-time Formula One champion needs in his quest to win motorsports' version of the Triple Crown. "I don't think we came into this arrogant, I think we were unprepared," Brown said. "We didn't deserve to be in the race and it's our own fault. It's not like we showed up and gave our best. We defeated ourselves." The path to missing the 33-driver field began when the car was not ready the moment Texas Motor Speedway opened for the April test. Brown had personally secured a steering wheel the previous week from Cosworth to use for the test, and the mistakes piled up from there. "We didn't get out until midday, our steering wheel was not done on time, that's just lack of preparation and project management organizational skills," Brown said. "That's where this whole thing fell down, in the project management. Zak Brown should not be digging around for steering wheels." A cosmetic issue at the Texas test haunted McLaren deep into last week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. McLaren purchased a car from technical partner Carlin, and though the car was orange when McLaren received it, it was not the proper McLaren "papaya orange." It had to be repainted after the test, and that still had not been completed when Alonso crashed his McLaren-built car last Wednesday. "We will look at what we learned here, and the list is a mile long." The Carlin spare was in a paint shop 30 minutes from the track, more than a month after McLaren complained about the color, and it ultimately cost McLaren almost two full days of track time. The team looked foolish as other teams were able to move into backup cars in mere hours; James Hinchcliffe crashed in Saturday qualifying and was back on track in his spare that afternoon.

These are the cars being discontinued for 2024 and beyond

While we get new and updated car models every year, its inevitable that we'll need to say goodbye to some nameplates as well. This time around, it feels like we have confirmation or reports of an unusually large number of vehicles being discontinued in 2024 and the coming years.  We shouldn't be surprised. A large number of automakers are approaching their various target dates for electrification of their fleets. As such, some beloved internal combustion cars are going away, sometimes with appropriate fanfare like special editions. Others are slinking away quietly, killed by slowing sales and changing consumer trends. Of course, the end of production doesn't necessarily mean permanent death. Some of these models could be resurrected in later years ... and probably as an EV. With that in mind, here are the vehicles that are being discontinued in 2024 and beyond.   Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and Stelvio Quadrifoglio Alfa Romeo ended the production of its combustion-only Quadrifoglio models in April 2024 as the Italian automaker moves toward an electrified future. This isn't the end of the Quadrifoglio entirely, though, with Larry Dominique, Alfa Romeo senior vice president and head of North America, writing, "I look forward to presenting the next chapter in the four-leaf clover’s journey."   Chevrolet Camaro GM is ending production of the Chevy Camaro after 2024, but is sending it off in style with a CollectorÂ’s Edition. WouldnÂ’t it be cool, though, if Chevy brought it back as an EV?   Chevrolet Malibu Rumors of its demise have been around for a while, but now itÂ’s official. GM will end production of the Chevy Malibu in November of 2024. The assembly line in Kansas will be retooled to build the replacement for the Chevy Bolt.   Dodge Durango The three-row Durango is slated to be replaced by the Stealth nameplate after 2024. The Durango name could make a comeback later, according to rumors, on a body-on frame SUV based on the Jeep WagoneerÂ’s platform.   Ford Edge This is the last year for the Edge in the U.S., with the final unit rolling off the assembly line in April. On sale since 2007, the Edge topped 100,000 sales in all but three full years of production.   Ford Escape Newly refreshed for the 2023 model year, FordÂ’s popular Escape compact SUV is reportedly taking its leave in 2025 in order to usher in — you guessed it — an EV in its place.

McLaren MP4-X concept shows innovation won't die in F1's future [w/video]

Despite things like turbocharging and kinetic-energy recovery, today's Formula One cars look more or less like the ones that lapped the world's race tracks 20 years ago. Sure, they're much more aero intensive, but the basic look is the same. McLaren, which probably had some serious free time this season considering its misfortunes, has imagined a futuristic F1 car that adopts many innovative and somewhat controversial additions. It's called the McLaren MP4-X, and the most obvious change is the closed cockpit. The death of Jules Bianchi, the accidents involving Maria De Villota and Felipe Massa, and even the death of Ayrton Senna could have all potentially been avoided by adopting a strong closed-cockpit design, like the one advocated here by McLaren. It's also worth pointing out that this design is a boon for aerodynamics. Inside that cockpit, drivers would enjoy an augmented reality display system, sort of like that used by F-35 Lightning II fighter pilots. There'd also be an independent head-up display that McLaren claims could be used to transmit info about race position and flag status. So basically, the kind of data you'd get playing Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo. Speaking of safety, the MP4-X's entire chassis, beyond the closed roof, would be far safer thanks to the use of "negative-stiffness material structures." Essentially, these materials can soak up the force of an impact and then bounce, for lack of a better term, back into shape. And if you're thinking like we are, this sounds like McLaren wants 900-horsepower bumper cars. Of course, 900 hp is speculation on our end. McLaren is deliberately vague on the powertrain of this concept. Advanced hybrid powertrains aren't surprising, although the team's mention of inductive, wireless charging on tracks sounds like the stuff of Formula E's dreams. In a move that McLaren says "tears up the rulebook," the MP4-X would see a return of ground effects. The underbody would feature enormous venturi tunnels to suck the car to the track. Alongside active aerodynamics that tweak the its shape for turns and straights, this concept McLaren would be both more slippery and offer more downforce than today's cars. There's a lot more on the MP4-X concept than we can talk about here, so head over to McLaren Honda's official website for all the nitty gritty details on this car's advanced systems, including solar cells, advanced tire sensors, and even virtual logos. It all sounds very, very cool.