Sam Michael thinks McLaren still need pit stop improvements – Formula 1 news
McLaren sporting director Sam Michael said that they still need to make some improvements in their pit stops regardless of setting a record in the 2012 German Grand Prix.
The Woking based team set the best pit stop of 2.4 seconds in the current season so far as their driver, Jenson Button came for his tyre change for the second time in the German GP. However, Michael expressed that they still require some necessary step ups
to enhance their pit stop timings so as to come up stronger in the season ahead.
It will be important to mention that the British team struggled in several grands prix due to poor pit stop strategy which caused their drivers crucial time loss which eventually resulted in low scores.
Although, they have shown some impressive pit stops during the last race at Hockenheimring, nonetheless, they believe that they still need to make some considerable progress in this area to fight for the championship title this year.
“We still have issues, same as any team in pit lane, but guys have a really good margin now so that if they do a 3.1s stop it feels incredibly slow - and that's pretty much stops that everyone else is doing,” Michael said. “So they've got enough margin to
lose seven or eight tenths and not be the quickest but still very competitive.
In addition, he said that they are targeting to be stable in the upcoming races and are aiming to provide their drivers with the most competent car and operational setup so that they may attain better results.
“We don't have any target or incentive to break records on pit stop times. They come through default because we work on equipment to make them consistent and that's why they get the fast times,” he added.
Even though, McLaren struggled with the lack of race pace in the European and British Grands Prix in which they could not achieve good results. Nonetheless, after Button’s incredible second podium finish in the preceding race, it seems that the Woking based
team is back on track.
Let’s see how they perform in the Hungarian GP.
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