Jenson Button does not think McLaren-Mercedes can keep up with Red Bull and Ferrari – Formula 1
McLaren driver, Jenson Button, has shown some concern over McLaren-Mercedes' new car, the MP4-26, after slow results on the first day of the Barcelona test. Although he finished second on a rain interfered day with 74 laps behind Red Bull’s Mark Webber, he is still uncertain about the car’s development and he thinks that in Australian Grand Prix, McLaren will not be on the podium.
The morning session was not good for Button as he faced exhaust problems and was confined to the pits. In the afternoon session he was able to close down Webber’s gap. He was giving a press conference at the end of the first day in Barcelona and said, “I'd be surprised if we can really match the Red Bull and Ferrari when we get to Melbourne. I think that's a big ask considering the mileage that we've had compared to them.” He concluded McLaren’s 12 days of testing by saying that, “"It hasn't been quite the best start to the year in terms of testing, in terms of mileage, and in terms of reliability, and also pace.”
McLaren launched their car at a much later date then their rivals and has had less mileage on the new car. After the Mp4-26 made its debut in the Jerez test it was not fully developed and was mostly confined to the pit. Button’s team mate, Lewis Hamilton, has said previously that McLaren will be doing the majority of the catching up this season.
2009 Formula one champion, Jenson Button, said that in terms of mileage, McLaren is way behind the champions like Red Bull and Ferrari. He said that finishing the Australian Grand Prix in third behind these two teams should not be considered a bad start.
McLaren’s car, MP4-26, had an instrument installed on the front wing on the first day of the Barcelona test which was supposedly for the aerodynamic tests. McLaren will be participating in the Barcelona test on two dates while skipping the track on Thursday. The test will continue on Wednesday where all teams will be participating. On the first day, four teams skipped the testing session including Mercedes, Ferrari, Williams and HRT.
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