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- Australian Grand Prix
Melbourne upgrades for McLaren
ESPNF1 Staff
March 19, 2010
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The McLaren will have several small upgrades by the time it reaches Australia © Getty Images
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- Race:
- Australian Grand Prix
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- Profiles:
- Jenson Button
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- Martin Whitmarsh
- Teams:
- McLaren
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh is bullish about his team's chances ahead of the Australian Grand Prix and revealed the MP4-25 would run a number of minor upgrades at the race.
McLaren finished on the podium in Bahrain after Lewis Hamilton took advantage of Sebastian Vettel's engine problem to finish third. The car was off the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull in qualifying and was giving away time in the lengthily middle sector of the lap. However, Whitmarsh thinks his team's performance last weekend was deceptive and said he is heading to Melbourne full of confidence.
"Coming just a fortnight after the opening race in Bahrain, there's been only minimal time to add developments to the MP4-25," he said. "But we've got a number of smaller components that we expect to add to the car ahead of the race. We've had the chance to reflect upon it, and I believe that our start to the season has been mostly encouraging. Our race pace in Bahrain looked respectable - we had the fastest car for much of the second half of the race - and I think we now have a clearer idea of how to set the car up over a grand prix weekend. Of course, we're under no illusions that the opposition will be tough - and we expect a fantastic battle in Melbourne this weekend."
Jenson Button finished seventh in Bahrain and struggled with the car through the new tight and twisty section added for this year's race. He is confident that the McLaren will be better suited to Melbourne where he expects to be more competitive.
"I think we head to the Albert Park circuit feeling more confident of our overall pace," he said. "It's quite a contrast to Bahrain: no tight, low-speed sections and plenty of faster corners. We think the track configuration should suit our package. We learnt some very useful lessons about MP4-25 in the opening race, and the whole team is keen to put them into practice this weekend."
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