Martin Whitmarsh says major changes in MP4-26 to be seen in Melbourne GP – Formula 1
McLaren Team boss, Martin Whitmarsh, is hoping for a great season opener in Melbourne after having miserable pre-season testing session. He explained that lots of modifications to the MP4-26 have been planned prior to the Melbourne Grand Prix which will
make the car one second quicker than it was in the tests.
After having an un-eventful pre-season test session, McLaren’s duo, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, were giving up the hopes of a good 2011 season. McLaren was rated as the most unreliable car by German analysts, who stated that even Virgin’s car, the
MVR-02, is more reliable than McLaren’s MP4-26.
Whitmarsh said that McLaren are not completely down and out of the competition and some upgrades are planned for the season. He said, “We have made some fairly dramatic changes, and those changes we'll see in Australia.” He further said that there is some
risk involved because the new changes will make debut in Australia, but he said that McLaren will be better off with the upgrades.
Talking about the planned modifications, Whitmarsh said that the exhaust will be modified, as many of the teams have done, and some other changes to the whole body. He said that the MP4-26’s exhaust was one extreme design feature that didn’t pay off. He
further said, “Frankly, some of our solutions weren't and that's why I think we had to go back. But I think in doing so we found some interesting performance.”
McLaren’s delayed launch was also the one of many reasons which hampered their car development. They launched their new car after the first test whereas all the other championship contenders like Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull launched the car before the
first test to get maximum time to understand and test the car.
Whitmarsh defended the delay and said that the performance of the car in Melbourne will eclipse all the questions about the launch. He further said that the upgrades will make the car a second quicker than it was previously.
With two world champions, McLaren’s upgrades can make the 2011 season more interesting as no less than five world champions will be competing for glory.
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