Whitmarsh concerned about McLaren’s pace

In the evening (this morning in France) of the first day of testing for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, initial assessments are beginning to outline the strengths in play. Several elements are noteworthy, among them, the relatively poor performance of the McLaren team. Jenson Button could only manage a ninth place, and his new teammate Sergio Pérez was even further behind.

Martin Whitmarsh, the sporting director of the Woking team, is concerned about the pace of his cars: « I think we should be worried about our pace. It has been a very difficult day for us today. We lack grip and consistency, and our car is suffering from significant understeer. »

That said, the Briton remains confident and believes that progress will not be long in coming: « As I said a few weeks ago, our car is complex. Maybe we haven’t yet found how to fully exploit its potential, but we know the potential is there. We are still learning, and we have a lot to learn about this single-seater. »

The championship may therefore be long for McLaren, who already seems to have given up on a possible victory this weekend: « In any case, you don’t win the world championship at the first race of the year. You win the world championship by managing a gradual development of our car, from the first start in Australia in March, throughout its development journey until Brazil in November. »

The two drivers share the opinion of their director, primarily Jenson Button: « Clearly, we are not as fast as we would like. We now need to work hard to find out why our car is like this, particularly in terms of handling and downforce. »

Sergio Pérez, although disappointed, also supports Whitmarsh’s statements: « It is important to remember that the Australian Grand Prix is only the first race of the season and that there is still a long way to go. We knew before coming here that we wouldn’t be as fast as other teams, but our goal is always to score as many points as possible. »