Chinese GP, McLaren wants to emerge from anonymity
McLaren arrives at the Chinese GP in a condition it was no longer used to: anonymity. After two years of fighting for the top, Andrea Stella’s team started the new era of Formula 1 with a gap of 50″ from the winner, and in the top-5 only because Max Verstappen started from P20. But the papaya team knows how to work very well and get back up: the amount of data and indications collected in the first weeks of activity of the new single-seater will be very useful already in Shanghai, where the Woking team wants to at least close the gap from the best.
Read more Porsche Cayenne S Electric, up to 666 hp of power
As McLaren engineering technical director Neil Houldey explained, the analysis work started since the shakedown has been further enriched with the information that emerged in Melbourne, where for the first time the MCL40 went into action in race scenarios and competitive conditions.
Houldey’s words
Looking ahead to Shanghai, the team’s attention is focused in particular on the more effective exploitation of the power unit, an aspect in which Mercedes excels and which has annoyed Stella: “Seeing the car in the race for the first time was a good opportunity to acquire new knowledge. We know there is still a lot to do, we continue to work hard to further exploit the performance of the power unit, also focusing on improving cornering grip. The next races will continue to have this focus, as we seek to obtain maximum performance from our current configuration. The team is making great efforts, both on track and in Woking, to develop the car, but we are aware that it will still take a few races before we can bring major updates to the track“.
“We have collected and analyzed a lot of data in different areas since the MCL40 debuted on track, and the first race of the season provided the team with further valuable information as we continue our development and learning journey within the framework of the new regulations“, Houldey added. “Therefore, ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, we have gathered all the lessons learned in Melbourne and reorganized as a team together with our partners to seize the opportunities in both Saturday’s Sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix“.
