Latest news with #MCL38
Newsweek
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Newsweek
F1 Insider Predicts 'Mind Games' At McLaren For 2025 Championship
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Formula One presenter Naomi Schiff has predicted that "mind games" will be at play in the McLaren garage as both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri battle closely for the 2025 championship. McLaren's MCL39 F1 car has been a dominant machine this season thus far, given that Piastri and Norris occupy the top two positions in the Drivers' Standings in the same order. The Papaya outfit experienced a resurgence in the current ground effect era, mid-2024, and surpassed Red Bull to win the constructors' championship. The Woking-based outfit adopted a radical approach with the MCL39, which is mostly new compared to its predecessor, the MCL38. However, having a dominant car with two strong drivers could lead to a situation where they are constantly compared. Following Norris' British Grand Prix win last weekend, he closed the gap to Piastri in the championship by a considerable margin. He trails his Australian teammate by just 8 points. Sky Sports' Naomi Schiff has opened up on the probability of mental games affecting both drivers. She said: Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren and Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren take part in media duties on the deck of the hospitality suite during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of... Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren and Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren take part in media duties on the deck of the hospitality suite during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Spain at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on May 29, 2025 in Barcelona, Spain. More"They have proven to be competitive at every circuit and have so much consistency that it doesn't look like anyone is able, yet, to take the fight to them. "So mind games will 100% come into it. "Comparison is the killer of joy! Your teammate next to you is constantly being compared. That's what will be hard. "I am sure [Mark Webber] has been giving [Piastri] help from the sidelines of all the things to think about." Schiff believes Norris has more homework to do than Piastri, considering he was slower in qualifying at Silverstone. She added: "There were a few places that Lando dropped the ball this weekend. "He didn't have the right lap in qualifying. He qualified behind his teammate. "There were rumours he was saving the inters but he didn't seem to be as quick as Oscar. "There are things for him to study despite his victory." Piastri failed to extend his lead in the championship after a safety car infringement at Silverstone, for which he was handed a ten-second penalty. That allowed Norris to take the lead and seal his victory. Expressing his frustration at the penalty, Piastri said after the race: "Yeah, I'm not gonna say much. I'll get myself in trouble, so well done to Nico. I think that's the highlight of the day, so... yeah, I'll leave it there." When Jenson Button insisted he spoke about the incident, Piastri added: "Yeah, I mean, apparently you can't brake behind the safety car anymore. I mean, I did it for five laps before that and... again, I'm not gonna say too much 'cause I'll get myself in trouble. But thanks to the crowd for a great event. Thanks for sticking through the weather. I still like Silverstone even if I don't like it today, so thanks for coming out."
Newsweek
27-06-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Sainz Lifts Lid on Lando Norris' Frustration Inside McLaren F1 Garage
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Williams Racing Formula One driver Carlos Sainz has revealed startling comments made by McLaren driver Lando Norris about the 2025 MCL39 F1 car. The comments arrive days after Norris crashed into his teammate, Oscar Piastri, at the Canadian Grand Prix. Sainz said ahead of the upcoming race weekend in Austria that Norris is "lacking a bit of the feeling" with the car compared to last year's MCL38, which helped Norris challenge Max Verstappen for the 2024 championship battle. While Verstappen managed to secure his fourth title over Norris due to his racing prowess, the impressive battle between the two drivers placed Norris as a strong championship rival for this year. Carlos Sainz of Spain and Williams walks in the Paddock during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 26, 2025 in Spielberg, Austria. Carlos Sainz of Spain and Williams walks in the Paddock during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 26, 2025 in Spielberg, since the start of the 2025 season, Norris has been overshadowed by Piastri, who has improved his race starts, leading to flawless qualifying and race performances. Piastri leads the 2025 championship battle with 198 points, 22 more than Norris in second with 176 points. While the points gap doesn't guarantee a championship victory for Piastri, it does represent a situation that has been challenging for Norris. McLaren overhauled its car over the winter break to smooth the rough edges and build on last year's strong foundation, a step that might have altered certain characteristics of the car, especially how it feels to drive. Sainz highlighted Norris's ability to win a championship but revealed the problem he was facing with the 2025 title contender. The Spaniard said: "It has not been easy for Lando," he told F1. "When I talk to him, he clearly is lacking a bit of the feeling he had with the car, compared to previous years. It's a bit unfortunate that that happens exactly a year after he's fighting for the world championship. "It's, I think the fate, and somehow the way that F1 can go. We've seen the careers of many drivers being compromised by having a year where the car just doesn't seem to go exactly where you like. You can name Daniel [Ricciardo], for example, when he changed to McLaren. "If that happens exactly the year that there is a championship car, it's unfortunate, and that is why F1 is such a complex sport, because it doesn't depend purely on you and your talent but also on a lot of things coming together at the same time and at the right time. "My feeling is that Lando, as a driver, has the capacity to turn things around with his talent, with his speed. There are still plenty of races where anything can happen, and it will all come down to whether he can put those laps together in quali at the right time." As F1 teams are expected to switch their focus to the 2026 car soon, it remains to be seen if McLaren addresses this concern with the MCL39.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Why McLaren's Miami F1 dominance wasn't just a factor of tire management
'We saw that when McLaren was pushing, we were between seven tenths and a second behind. For the first time, we saw their pure speed,' was Helmut Marko's verdict after the Miami Grand Prix, offering a clear, raw picture of the McLaren's superiority. Of the six rounds held so far, the most recent one is the first in which the papaya team fully showcased its potential. Until then, owing to various race circumstances, that speed had been at least partially concealed. Advertisement Two elements stood out the most in Florida: the final gap, and the speed with which Lando Norris managed to get back behind Max Verstappen after the first-lap incident. After slipping to sixth position, with two Mercedes and a Williams to overtake, Norris took just 13 laps to close the gap to Verstappen. Granted, he had some assistance from factors such as the ease of overtaking in Miami with DRS (improved this year by the extension of one of the zones), and Verstappen's battle with Oscar Piastri, which slowed both of them down. However, the speed with which Norris made his comeback gave a concrete measure of McLaren's potential in Miami. Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing Andy Hone / Motorsport Images Andy Hone / Motorsport Images Advertisement All of this fits into a broader picture: a gap of nearly 40 seconds to third-place man George Russell at the chequered flag. But where does such a large gap come from – one of the biggest in the ground-effect era? Oscar Piastri, McLaren Oscar Piastri, McLaren James Sutton / Motorsport Images James Sutton / Motorsport Images It was 12 months ago in Miami that McLaren's comeback began – but even though the MCL38 was transformed by the update package applied that weekend, tire management wasn't its forte. On the contrary, especially on a flying lap, high temperatures made it difficult for the car to extract grip from the soft compound. For the MCL39 McLaren has applied the lessons of 2024, not just in terms of tire management but also mechanical and aerodynamic versatility and effectiveness in the slow sections – which also used to be a weakness. And this is precisely where that nearly 40-second gap to the competition comes from, even if McLaren did save a few seconds by benefiting from the Virtual Safety Car during its pitstops. Advertisement Analysing the race data it's clear that, in the first stint, after wearing out his tires in the battle with the McLarens, Verstappen was no longer able to exploit the potential of the RB21 in the high-speed sections. In Turn 5, where in qualifying McLaren had a deficit of 8 km/h, by the end of the first stint the papaya car had gained a 15 km/h advantage. But it's in the second half of the race that an even more interesting fact emerges: after switching to the hard tires, Verstappen regained pace in the fast corners, once again making use of his car's only remaining real strength. But it wasn't enough to overturn McLaren's effectiveness in the slow corners. Oscar Piastri, McLaren Oscar Piastri, McLaren Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images Advertisement Where a year ago the MCL38 suffered from chronic understeer, the MCL39 has now turned that into one of its greatest weapons. This topic fits into the broader context of versatility. The MCL39 isn't the perfect car, but it is the most complete – capable of adapting to a wide range of tracks. While Miami is a circuit that played more to McLaren's strengths than Red Bull's, it remains a complex track to set up for, requiring a balance between slow corners, fast sections, and straights. And it is precisely thanks to this versatility that McLaren is able to make the difference – continuing to dominate in the slow sections without overly compromising performance in medium-high speed areas, where other cars remain absolutely superior. It's not just a matter of temperature. If you look at the track temperature on Sunday in Miami, it was comparable to – if not lower than – what was seen in Jeddah. Yet Red Bull suffered greater tire overheating than in Saudi Arabia. Advertisement 'We had hotter tires than in Jeddah, and even a small temperature variation can change a lot of things,' said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. 'The tires are very sensitive.' Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing Steven Tee / Motorsport Images Steven Tee / Motorsport Images If in Jeddah Red Bull was able to set up its car to shine in the fast corners, in Miami it failed to find a compromise as effective as McLaren's. It's not just a matter of tire management, but also of operating window and technical versatility – areas in which the MCL39 excels. Another performance factor is clearly temperature-related, though. The Honda engine – like the Ferrari to some extent – requires more pronounced hot air dissipation, and it's no coincidence that in the hottest or most humid races, Red Bull is among the cars with the largest cooling louvres. Advertisement By contrast, the Mercedes power unit seems to handle this requirement better, and some of McLaren's design choices have maximised its potential. This allows for tighter, more streamlined bodywork – not just along the engine cover, but also at the end of the central cooling outlet – resulting in clear benefits for aerodynamic efficiency. 'There's another characteristic that works very well with our car: cooling. When it's hot, you can see how our car remains relatively closed, precisely because a lot of work has gone into this area as well,' added Stella. 'I believe McLaren's engineering excellence has reached a level that really makes a difference.' A car that isn't perfect – but certainly the most complete. To read more articles visit our website.
News.com.au
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- News.com.au
Lando Norris' Oscar Piastri problem ahead of Miami Grand Prix
Lando Norris has an Oscar Piastri problem. Rather than shadowing his championship challenge, as many has predicted after last season, Piastri is overshadowing Norris's title hopes. The Australian has just taken the championship lead from his teammate with a 10-point advantage. He's on a two-race victory streak and has three wins from five races as the only multiple winner of the season to date. Fortunately for the Briton, the Miami Grand Prix is next. The Floridian street-style circuit is the scene of Norris's long-awaited first Formula 1 victory and the beginning of the epic comeback that ended McLaren's long run in the competitive wilderness with an elusive constructors championship. Having needed a weekend off to reset after his bruising fortnight in the Middle East, returning to the happy memories of Miami should be the perfect salve. But Piastri's shadow lingers here too. Had it not been for circumstance, this so easily could have — should have? — been Piastri's first victory. In 2025 he's out to make some happy memories of his own. PIASTRI'S LOST FIRST WIN McLaren's season had started slowly, the team having telegraphed early that the MCL38 would be undercooked on debut but would be revitalised by an in-season upgrade. The first parts of that update arrived in Miami, round 5 of the championship. By then McLaren had a strong development reputation, but like many teams determined to rush performance to the car, upgrades didn't always arrive in sufficient quantity to be applied to both drivers. That was the case in Miami last year, where Norris received the full upgrade package but Piastri, lower in the drivers championship at the time, had to make do with only a partial update. The team calculated the difference between the two specifications was around 0.2 seconds. In other words, all things being equal, Piastri should have been around 0.2 seconds slower than Norris every lap. In sprint qualifying Piastri beat Norris by 0.311 seconds — a net advantage of 0.511 seconds. In qualifying for the grand prix Norris beat Piastri by just 0.081 seconds, putting Piastri a net 0.119 seconds ahead. 'We knew already how fast he is on a single lap,' McLaren boss Andrea Stella said, per Autosport, at the end of the weekend. 'Considering that he didn't have the full package, let me pay proper credit to Oscar. The gap he had to Lando in qualifying is smaller than the difference of the package he had. 'He was really pulling off strong performance over a single lap in very difficult conditions.' Norris and Piastri launched from fourth and fifth on the grid, but by the end of the first lap the Australian had moved ahead, taking third, while Norris had slipped back to sixth. And Piastri didn't stop there. Clearly the quicker McLaren, he dispatched Charles Leclerc easily enough to bring pole-getter Verstappen into his sights. He remained a stubborn 3.5 seconds adrift of the Red Bull Racing car. In response the Dutchman pitted for the hard tyre on lap 23. Piastri inherited the lead of the grand prix. Immediately it was clear Verstappen's RB20 didn't like the new compound. McLaren kept Piastri out for four more laps to build a small tyre offset, pitting him at the end of lap 27. Norris, meanwhile, had been toiling in sixth for much of the first stint. He gained places as drivers ahead of him pitted until suddenly he was in first place without having had to make an overtake. That was the start of lap 28. Later that lap Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant sent each other crashing into the barriers at turn 3, forcing a safety car. By the end of the lap Norris was in the pits. With the safety car holding up the field, he rejoined the race with a lead he would never relinquish. It was a strike of luck for the Briton, who had held the record for most podiums without a victory. But it was bad luck for Piastri. Had he waited just one more lap before pitting, it would've been him, not Norris, who had benefited from the safety car to win the race. He was later punted out of the points by Carlos Sainz, adding insult to injury, but it did nothing to mask the upside of Piastri's performance. 'Lando said something really nice before,' Stella said. 'He said by looking at Oscar overtaking a Ferrari, he felt, 'Wow, we are actually there today', so it was a realisation for Lando himself. 'He comes away from this weekend with this sort of conviction, especially in terms of race pace, which is something we wanted to improve having looked at Japan, having looked at China. 'I think Oscar comes out of this weekend even more conscious of his strengths as a driver. 'For me, he's in a very strong place.' ANATOMY OF AN F1 COMEBACK Miami signified more than Norris's breakthrough victory. It was also a landmark race for McLaren on its journey back to the top of Formula 1. Woking's 2024 season started a little underwhelmingly. Its development trajectory in 2023 had been immense, dragging the car from the back of the grid to being best of the rest behind the all-conquering Red Bull Racing machine in just a few months, with the high point being Piastri's victory in the Qatar sprint late in the season. Anticipation for 2024 had therefore been high, but during the pre-season the team worked hard to play down expectations, revealing that the new challenger would debut needing a major upgrade. So it proved. Though Norris scored a couple of podiums — in Australia and China — it was well off the pace set by Red Bull Racing and behind even Ferrari. But McLaren kept the faith, and by round 5 in Miami it was back on track, with Piastri's pace and Norris's victory signifying the start of a change in the Formula 1 balance of power. Qualifying tells the story. Average 2024 qualifying gap to pole, dry conditions Miami onwards: McLaren 0.028 seconds ahead of Red Bull Racing That's an effective 0.478-second turnaround in relative performance between the two frontrunning teams. It's a reversal in fortunes evident on the title table. Despite Norris's win, McLaren's points deficit to Red Bull Racing peaked after the Miami Grand Prix. That's because Sergio Pérez was still in reasonable form, scoring in both the sprint and the feature race along with Verstappen. McLaren, on the other hand, had only car in each race — Norris retired from Saturday with crash damage, while Piastri was punted out of the points by Sainz on Sunday. But from Miami onwards McLaren made gradual and then rapid inroads into Red Bull Racing's points lead. Championship position Before Miami: Red Bull Racing ahead 195-96 Miami onwards: McLaren ahead 570-394 Down 115 points after Miami, McLaren effected a 192-point turnaround to beat Red Bull Racing by 77 points — though it secured the constructors championship by just 14 points from Ferrari in a final-race showdown. In both cases — car speed and score rate — McLaren's trajectory has continued practically unabated into 2025. McLaren leads the constructors championship by a commanding 77 points, and Piastri and Norris are first and second on the drivers title table. Success in Formula 1 is never the result of a single moment or single development, but the multitude of factors that would hoist McLaren from the doldrums to the championship began culminating almost exactly a year ago at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, and that work continues bearing fruit today. PIASTRI IS ENTERING THE STRONGEST PART OF HIS SEASON There's one other important lesson from year-old history worth considering ahead of the 2025 Miami Grand Prix. Had Piastri won last year's race, it would have been at least as deserved a result as Norris's maiden victory. That's not just because the Australian was McLaren's form driver that weekend. It's because he was to be the team's form man for the entire month of May and in fact for many months to come. He was faster in qualifying for the following Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, qualifying a career-best second, but he was penalised three grid places for a team communication error that had him impede Kevin Magnussen during Q1. Norris proved on Sunday the car was quick enough to challenge pole-getter Verstappen for the entire race, finishing just 0.725 seconds off victory. Piastri improved to finish fourth in a race that featured almost no overtaking, but what might have he managed had he started from the front row? He then proved his potential at the Monaco Grand Prix, where he was pipped to pole by home favourite Charles Leclerc — though had he strung together his three best sectors, he would've started from the all-important P1 position by 0.07 seconds. Overtaking is almost impossible in Monte Carlo, and the first-lap red flag killed the strategy element of the race too by allowing drivers to make their mandatory single tyre changes for free. Piastri finished second, exactly where he started. That was really only the beginning for the Australian, who was the highest scorer in the sport through the 11-race European leg of the campaign. Drivers championship, rounds 7 to 17, 2024 1. Oscar Piastri: 181 points 2. Max Verstappen: 177 points 3. Lando Norris: 171 points 4. Lewis Hamilton: 139 points 5. Charles Leclerc: 137 points 6. George Russell: 106 points 7. Carlos Sainz: 101 points 8. Sergio Pérez: 40 points Now 12 months on, we're coming into what was the strongest part of Piastri's season last year. Having already proved in the opening run of five races this year that he's massively improved his lows by winning at circuits that had delivered him little or no joy in previous seasons, there's anticipation Piastri could find yet more gears as the sport moves into the middle part of the campaign. Every driver will have bad weekends in a 24-event season, but there's no reason to think Piastri has any major structural weaknesses left in his game. It could be bad news for Norris as he arrives in Miami looking for an early reprieve and a chance to bounce back. It might be a track of happy memories for him, but for Piastri this venue signifies unfinished business — and he's in the sort of form that doesn't leave loose ends.
New York Times
01-03-2025
- Automotive
- New York Times
After F1 testing, McLaren is the clear team to beat going into the new season
SAKHIR, Bahrain — For the first time in years, McLaren knew it would not enter the new Formula One season as an underdog. Following its rise to winning the constructors' title last year and the constant threat that Lando Norris was able to pose to Max Verstappen through the second half of last season, the team had a target on its back going into 2025. Advertisement And judging by its performance through three days of preseason testing in Bahrain, McLaren will venture to Australia in two weeks as the team to beat for what is anticipated to be one of the closest seasons in recent F1 history. McLaren's rate of development in the past two years has been astonishing. Its run of upgrades that started midway through 2023 in Austria took it from the back of the grid to the very front by the end of 2024, rarely making a misstep. While others hit the ceiling with their development earlier, or put parts on the car that didn't yield a step forward, every upgrade McLaren brought worked. The consistent base McLaren built through last year with the MCL38 was no reason to stand still going into the new year. A number of changes prompted team principal Andrea Stella to dub the new car 'innovative' at its launch two weeks ago. That push to unlock more performance, necessary amid the close fight at the front, always came with the risk of a stumble. That made the early feedback from Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri — that the new car felt similar to last year's in a lot of ways — encouraging for McLaren to hear. Another solid all-rounder of a car, one that could perform well in all conditions and on all kinds of tracks, would be a good start. So was Norris' lap time set towards the end of day one which Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said was 'on a different planet.' Norris' race simulation at the end of day two really signaled McLaren's pace to the rest of the paddock, particularly in comparison to Ferrari and Mercedes. Through a 17-lap stint on the mediums, he consistently lapped in the low 1:35s range, with his fastest lap dipping into the 1:34.9s range. When Charles Leclerc started his race simulation for Ferrari on mediums about 40 minutes later, he averaged in the mid-1:35s before slipping towards the 1:36s range toward the end of the stint. Advertisement On average, Norris was 0.25 seconds quicker per lap than Leclerc. Norris kept finding time as the fuel burned off when he moved onto the hards, albeit running on C1s instead of the softer C2 specification for Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli. His second stint was again a couple of tenths per lap up on what Leclerc managed — 0.22s on average — before an especially rapid stint well into the 1:32s. Leclerc didn't go any quicker than a 1:33.5s lap in his final stint. More starkly, Norris and Leclerc had a 1.2-second difference in average lap time in the final stint. One rival team member, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, described the final effort from Norris as 'mighty' and expressed hope it wasn't a true reflection of where things stand going into the new season. As always, the typical caveats of testing, like not knowing the engine mode, apply. There were other flashes from McLaren that we didn't see from other teams. At the end of day two, Norris twice put together a quick first and second sector, only to back off and not complete the lap, instead diving into the pits. The same thing happened on Friday toward the end of the morning session, his final outing in the car before Melbourne. Piastri was quite coy about McLaren's start to testing in the final news conference of the test week on Friday, describing testing as being 'a bit up and down' ahead of his final run in the afternoon session. Testing is never entirely smooth. Wednesday's power outage and some rain on Thursday morning had disrupted running, while teams will always make mistakes with their setup in testing as they find the limits of their new cars. But the quiet confidence emanating from McLaren throughout the winter has carried through this week in a way unfelt from many of its rivals. The vibes are positive. Rewind 12 months, and it was Red Bull who left testing with a clear edge over its rivals, which then translated into a dominant start to the year in Bahrain. This time, it's unclear where that team stands at the front of the pack, only that this test did not go entirely to plan. Neither Verstappen nor new teammate Liam Lawson completed a full race simulation, making it difficult to draw comparisons with their data. Speaking on Thursday, Verstappen sounded tentatively pleased with the progress made to undo many of the issues that made last year's car so troublesome for him through the second half of the season. He wanted to reserve judgment until after his full day behind the wheel on Friday, yet he did not get as much running as anticipated. Verstappen only managed 81 laps all day (fewer than Piastri, Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon managed in half a day), and did not manage more than 10 consecutive timed laps. Advertisement Pierre Wache, Red Bull's technical director, admitted it was 'not as smooth a test as we expected,' and that the car 'did not respond how we wanted at times' amid its setup experiments, pointing to its issues going beyond the relative lack of mileage. Much of the preseason spotlight has shone on Lewis Hamilton following his move to Ferrari, and whether it might give him the chance to fight for the eighth world championship he so craves. Hamilton's enthusiasm and energy about life at Ferrari so far has been infectious and continued throughout the week. While he admits the team still had work to do, Hamilton said he felt the most positive about a new car in years, a telling sign of just how difficult the final seasons were at Mercedes. Hamilton wasn't able to complete a race simulation on Friday evening after the team spotted an 'anomaly on the telemetry' and decided to stop as a precaution. This means his first race-length run in the new Ferrari won't come until his debut in Australia. Until then, there are elements to refine. The handling of the SF-25 still requires some work, a view shared by Leclerc, and it didn't quite look as stable as the McLaren or as quick during the race simulation. Leclerc's pace was more in line with that of Antonelli in the Mercedes, who embarked on a race simulation around a similar time of day, and spent much of the final stint around three seconds back from the Ferrari on-track. Leclerc lapped around two-tenths up on average on the mediums, but Antonelli was just 0.03s off through the first hard stint, and in fact one-tenth of a second per lap quicker on the second hard stint. The most encouraging fact for Mercedes is there is no sign of the early concern that arose at testing in each of the past three years. Hamilton and George Russell both knew very early in previous testing weeks how troublesome the car would be. Now? There's far more confidence, and the car looks far more predictable while watching trackside compared to previous years. The race simulation numbers point to Mercedes being in contention with Ferrari, something it failed to be through a lot of last year, when it instead enjoyed huge peaks and troughs in performance with the W15. Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes' trackside engineering director, said the early signs were the team had 'made good steps' to remedy the weaknesses of last year, but warned it was 'far too early to make an accurate prediction of the competitive order.' As early as it may be, that won't stop the teams from poring through all the data from Bahrain in the coming week before starting the long journey to Australia. So fine are the margins that the group of Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari is hard to properly gauge. What is clearer out of testing is the step ahead by McLaren, making it the favorite going to Australia. Its underdog status is firmly a thing of the past. The challenge now for McLaren is making good on its encouraging start in winter testing and making it count when the lights go out in Melbourne.
