Updates moeten McLaren vooral op zaterdag vooruit helpen

Afgelopen zaterdag in Baku was McLaren by far het langzaamste Renault-team in de kwalificatie voor de Grand Prix van Azerbeidzjan. Stoffel Vandoorne kwam door bijzondere omstandigheden zelfs niet uit Q1, maar ook onder normale omstandigheden is Q3 buiten bereik van het Britse team. De oplossing zou moeten komen van een grote aerodynamische update die het team wil introduceren in Barcelona. Het is de eerste in een serie van updates die McLaren dichterbij de traditionele top drie moet brengen.

'We hopen dat Barcelona de start van een nieuwe fase is', zei teambaas Eric Boullier tegen Motorsport-Total.com. 'Iedereen zal nieuwe updates naar Barcelona meebrengen, maar niet iedereen zal meteen in staat zijn om sneller te zijn. Wij hebben een programma ontwikkeld dat ons in staat moet stellen om stappen te blijven maken. In Monaco komt ook een update, vervolgens in Canada en daarna in Silverstone.'

De nieuwe updates moeten McLaren vooral vooruit helpen in de kwalificaties. 'We hebben het op zaterdag altijd bijzonder lastig', erkent coureur Fernando Alonso. 'Zelf verwacht ik niet direct wonderen van de nieuwe aerodynamica, maar het is ons om het pakket werkend te krijgen. We hopen dat anderen links en rechts wat steken laten vallen. Dat wordt Q3 haalbaar voor ons.' (foto: McLaren F1 Team)

 

 

 

 

"On Saturday, we're always struggling, Barcelona is coming up with the new aerodynamics package, but 95 percent of the field will bring an Aero update there, so maybe the gap will stay as it is or we'll get a little closer or drop even further back, "star pilot Alonso does not want to commit himself. "It's up to us to make the package work and meet our expectations, and then we hope others will not get along so well," said the Spaniard.

Internally, it has already been seen in Woking that you probably can not reach the self-imposed goals so quickly. Originally, they wanted to overtake the Renault factory team this month and attack Red Bull, in the summer, podium places should have been possible on their own. In fact, the other two teams with Renault power in qualifying are much faster. Alonso had last in three races in a row a subscription to the 13th place in qualifying.

"On the straights, they are slow, so I suspect that they drive with more downforce," says technical expert Pat Symonds. An indication that the MCL33 without steep wings does not offer as much grip as the cars of the competition. That McLaren Chief Technology Officer Tim Goss is therefore no longer in office and dignity, lets McLaren team boss Eric Boullier see through between the lines: "I can only confirm that we constantly question, review and restructure, yes, but that is part of life in a Formula One team and part of its development. "

The new Aero Update in Barcelona is now at least another step in the right direction. Alonso, who will be starting his WEC adventure with Toyota at the 6-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps next weekend, will probably need to continue his patience. "Maybe it's starting in a new direction," hopes Team boss Boullier. "Everyone will bring something new, but not everyone will be able to improve at once, as Fernando said." At least you want to stay with McLaren now continue to reduce the backlog step by step. "In Monaco is another update, in Canada and also in Silverstone," promises the Frenchman.