Friday – McLaren did not reignite a spark in Australia

McLaren was not the favorite for these free practice sessions. McLaren did not create any surprise and is content with the back of the grid for now. Hamilton never entered the top 15 today and experienced issues in balancing his car: everything needed to instill confidence. On his side, Kovalainen posted a good 5th time in the first free practice session, but by taking advantage of a track in a poor state of adhesion.

In the end, the Woking team continues with the hope of scoring points in races, as Hamilton had warned.

Heikki Kovalainen – 5th and 17th:

« Although the track was very dusty and slippery, the car wasn’t bad from the first laps. The day’s overall performance is quite good, especially in high-speed corners. The KERS also worked well. »

« Even if the times don’t seem to show it, we made quite a bit of progress today and improved the pace from the last tests… »

Lewis Hamilton – 16th and 18th:

« The first session was not as productive for us as the second. We worked on the tyres to optimize them during the stints, but it’s not quite there yet. As a result, I’m not fully confident to push hard. »

« The changes we made after FP1 allowed me to get comfortable with the car. However, we are still looking to improve the balance and we still have quite a few problems to solve, but I think we are on the right track.

Martin Whitmarsh – Director:

« We arrived in Australia fully aware: we are not the best, but we have truly improved today and since Barcelona. We have had structured working sessions, with rigor and efficiency to maximize the performance of the MP4/24. In the end, we are making progress and by the next races, we will have what it takes to return to the forefront. »