Problems aplenty for McLaren-Mercedes on their 50th anniversary

The year 2013 marks the 50th year of existence for one of the most successful teams in Formula One history – the McLaren Mercedes.

It was 50 years back that Bruce McLaren started a team which was to become a huge success in Formula One with some of the best names in the sport driving a car with dreams.

But sadly, the team that has given so much to the sport, including arguably the best team of drivers in its history, bringing Alain Prost and Aryton Senna together, finds itself in a tough situation amidst celebrations.

Troubled season amid celebrations

Jenson Button and McLaren have had a disappointing season

The car and the team which had promised so much during last season, clearly failed to live up to expectations this time around.

Although the team openly admitted the errors in getting the car to be competitive, it surely didn’t go down well with the fans across the world, not to mention the drivers, Jenson Button and Sergio Perez.

While there wasn’t much wrong with MP4-28, McLaren found out problems in their wind-tunnel testing, which is basically used to test the aerodynamics of a Formula One car.

The team was able to find the root cause but haven’t been able to find a solution yet.

Martin Whitmarsh, Mclaren Team Principal

But as admitted by Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh, this isn’t the first time that Mclaren had got it wrong.

A few years back, in the 2009 season, they found themselves in a similar peculiar situation with aerodynamic problems. With almost half the season over, they were clearly struggling with just 13 points. But the team managed to salvage some pride with Lewis Hamilton winning at Hungary and Singapore.

The question remains, can they win a couple of races to celebrate the Golden Jubilee year of their existence. That is doubtful. It’s probably a bit too late for McLaren to invest much in this year’s car. At this time of the year, most of the teams are thinking about the next season, and they themselves have to worry about one of the biggest technical changes in Formula One.

So, what McLaren probably are doing, is learning from the mistakes to work on the 2014 car with the new regulations in mind.

They might just gain something from the practice sessions by using them as testing grounds to improve on the MP4-28 and be able to finish among the top 10, if not the top 5.

A win though seems improbable and practically speaking, they might just have to wait for it to come in the next season.

However, they do have a challenge at hand to beat Force India. Hypothetically, if McLaren are able to stage a comeback with a couple of wins and a few podiums, it could make the title race even more interesting.

As Bruce Mclaren famously said, “life is measured in achievement, not in years alone”.

The fans surely would be hoping that the team is able to achieve something before the season ends, if not anything else, simply its lost pride.