McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh says they will make car improvements before Chinese GP – Formula 1 news
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has said that his team will introduce some new parts to its car during the Friday practice sessions of the Chinese Grand Prix in order to test them before the race.
“Coming just a week after Malaysia, it's essential that we maintain the thrust of our development programme in order to further close the gap to the front,” Whitmarsh said.
McLaren have been the only team to challenge Red Bull Racing Team’s pace so far. Jenson Button finished in second place at the Malaysian Grand Prix while Lewis Hamilton finished in second spot at the season opener in Australia.
However, Red Bull have been more consistent as compared to McLaren as the reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel won the first two races of the 2011 season after scoring two consecutive pole positions.
In order to decrease the gap between the two teams, Martin said that the team will introduce some new components and hopefully improve its new car’s performance.
“To achieve that, we'll be spending Friday evaluating a number of new components alongside our regular tyre and set-up programmes. We have a number of new parts that we want to evaluate on Friday - either for potential incorporation into our programme for
the Shanghai race, or as part of longer-term development strategy,” stated the McLaren boss.
Martin believes that it is a race of development this year and the team which successfully does that, will win the championship.
Meanwhile, Jenson Button stated that McLaren can get more opportunities by keeping the pressure on Red Bull racing. He added that it is not going to be a two horse race between McLaren and Red Bull as Ferrari and Mercedes GP might surprise everyone.
So far, Ferrari and Mercedes GP have failed to impress in the first two races of the ongoing season. Both of the teams could not manage a single podium and will be hoping to do well in Shanghai.
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