I think McLaren's upgrades are certainly doing alright, at least on high speed tracks. That said, 18 points is still a decent margin to make up and the summer break is only 3 races away. I think it's going to be tight!
I still can't comprehend how Alpine managed to loose Piastri and Alonso last year. Good for them tbh, they both have better cars and are enjoying their stay in their new teams.
If Piastri ends the season above Gasly, which is suddenly an exciting and real possibility, I think we can let him win this one? At the time it was happening it was a more obvious decision also. Last year's McLaren was much better than this year's (so far)
Even if McLaren wasn’t that good last year, going to McLaren was still a better choice when it comes to leadership and management. Alpine/Renault has been in management turmoil for a long while now.
Apparently they left him in the dark concerning his future contract with Alpine which according to the rumors clearly stated that they would get him seat either at Alpine or another team before a certain date. They let the deadline lapse and stayed silent and then they unilaterally decided to publicly announce his Alpine seat. He had every reason to leave even if McLaren sucked that season.
Plus how they handled dropping Sainz and Hulkenberg it’s not a surprise that also Alonso was eager to leave.
Yeah that’s fair, end of session will be a good place to view it as a whole. There are always gambles like Ricciardo that don’t pay off. Would have loved to see him at Renault for longer.
Seeing as Piastri was very hyped through his junior years and is looking like the real deal this season already I think the only clear winner of the ordeal is McLaren.
Possibly though it depends on the season overall. Like, McL are looking good this weekend but have had a poor season so far for them compared to last year. Time will tell, I suppose.