F1: 3 people McLaren is depending on in 2019 

Having aimed high in their first year with Renault engines, McLaren got 62 points at an average of $3.23m/point and finished sixth in the 2018 championships.

Having set themselves the target of challenging Red Bull and Renault, they fell short by quite a few fractions of seconds a lap. Technically, they finished behind Force India after their points were wiped off due to them slipping into administration; and then being rescued by the Lawrence Stroll led consortium.

With a fresh set of regulations next year, this is yet another chance for the British constructor to bounce back if they can find the right ideas and the right people to execute them. Weirdly, two of the three people they would be depending on are not yet fully involved at the Surrey factory.

Meanwhile the third is desperately trying to get more sponsorship to be able to better compete with the leaders on equal foot financially.

McLaren has Bahraini money to fall back on but nothing compares to sponsor money that only comes from better performance on the racing circuits. The crucial year of 2019 has the team banking on these three people to get them out of the mess and challenge.

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#3 James Key

James Key is expected to arrive sooner than expected at McLaren

McLaren have high expectations from their incoming Technical Director James Key, who they managed to entice from Toro Rosso.

So eager were they to bring him on board as soon as possible that at the point, Lando Norris was being considered to be loaned to Toro Rosso as barter in order to facilitate a shorter gardening leave for Key.

Given their troubles with the car this season despite a change from Honda to Renault engines, it is quite understandable too.

CEO Zak Brown believes the team’s incoming technical director should be able to join early enough to be able to contribute to the development of MCL34, who said

[Regarding] James Key, we are in active discussions. I would characterise those discussions towards the end of coming to a positive conclusion for all parties (McLaren, Key and Toro Rosso).

Key is expected to be at the McLaren Technology Center in Woking, but not to design the car from its earliest stage, for that has been in the works since June 2018.

He would, however, be there for the further upgrades through 2019 and finally mastermind the 2020 car.

#2 Zac Brown

Zac Brown will be under pressure to get the team back on track after 4 disastrous years

Zac Brown has finally made a raft of structural changes in the organisation with Pat Fry coming in as Engineering Director, Andrea Stella as Performance Director and the firing of Éric Boullier. While a title sponsor is still not there, but Brown has brought in sponsors and found out new ways of bringing more financial muscle to the side.

Coca-Cola, Petrobras, Kimoa have come on board but they have lost many more since 2016 - like Santander, Johnnie Walker, Michael Kors, and Sensodyne.

They were lucky to nab the £200 million from the Iranian-Canadian businessman Michael Latifi, the father of Formula 2 racer Nicholas Latifi.

That 10% stake has helped them cover the costs lost due to the Honda split. Teams need the cash to not fall behind in the development race, which has a frenetic pace. McLaren and Brown both need more from each other in a crunch year.

#1 Fernando Alonso

Alonso and McLaren will be closely intertwined in the immediate future

Fernando Alonso jumped into an F1 car the very next day after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2018.

This was for a car swap with seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson at the Bahrain International Circuit.

He indicated that he is very open to playing a hands-on approach in 2019 by testing for McLaren despite opting to not compete in the season.

His inputs will be crucial and will also keep the new drivers Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris honest.

To word it correctly, 'he has not retired' and now has more time on his hands to prepare for the races that he really wants to win - Indy Car, Dakar and Daytona.

For all the narrative of him bringing politics to the teams, he still is seen as the gold standard and very much welcomed by McLaren team and boss Zac Brown

“These F1 world champions, whether it’s Michael Schumacher or Mika Hakkinen, who came close to a comeback, don’t want to be too far from the F1 pit lane. There’s a lot he can contribute experience-wise. Carlos and Lando are open to any ideas that will bring us experience. Fernando knows the team very well, Lando doesn’t have that experience, and Carlos doesn’t have that experience with us. I’ll go to Daytona for Fernando’s Daytona testing and we’re going to chat to him further then."