McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh says they are not over yet – Formula 1 news
McLaren’s team boss Martin Whitmarsh has said that they are not over yet in the 2011 season and there will be surprises around the corner.
He had a lot to say about the capabilities of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button with the Pirelli tyres, KERS and MP4-26.
Many Formula 1 related people have doubted the capability of McLaren and said that it will not be in the first three positions in the 2011 season. Also, the McLaren duo, Hamilton and Button has said recently that McLaren do not have the ‘spark’ to compete
this season. Button recently said that if McLaren finish third to Red Bull and Ferrari in the Australian Grand Prix, it will be nothing less than a glory.
Talking about the rumours that McLaren are out of the championship hunt and about its reliability, Whitmarsh said, “motorsport pundits have come unstuck when they've attempted to extrapolate testing times to predict race results, and I'm not about to join
their number now.”
When asked about the delayed launch of the 2011 car and the fact that it had less mileage than many of its rivals, Whitmarsh justified the delay and said, “One of the most significant performance factors facing every team for 2011 was the introduction of
the new Pirelli tyres - a variable that, by running at Valencia using last year's car, we felt we could more richly evaluate in isolation.”
He further added that the MP4-26 did lose some mileage due to the delay, but he does not regret it, as they got some good mileage on Pirelli tyres. As McLaren are famous for their F-duct introduction, perhaps they have some more innovation for 2011, as Whitmarsh
said, “I'm sure there'll be plenty of surprises in store, and to be frank it'll be good for the sport if there are.”
In 2010, the McLaren duo was only able to bag five grand prix wins, three to Hamilton and two to Button. Talking about this fact, Whitmarsh said that despite having five grands prix, McLaren finished ahead of their traditional rivals Ferrari in the constructors’
championship.
Talking about the Formula 1 rules for 2011, he was very satisfied about the KERS return and Pirelli tyres. Talking about KERS he said that when it first came to Formula 1 in 2009, McLaren were the first team to win a Grand Prix with it.
Talking about Pirelli, he said that they have done a good job with the tyres as it will induce more pit-stops. When asked about the fact that 24 teams will be in the pit-lanes at more or less the same times, creating confusion in the camps, he said, “We've
always seen races won and lost in the pits, and I'm sure 2011 will be no different.”
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