McLaren MP4/21 2006

[RazaBlade]

I just saw it today on BBC news.... interesting livery!

[twinspark]

I just saw it today on BBC news.... interesting livery!

It is quite interesting, and may look a bit different on track because of reflections from tarmac, the sky etc.

[Dino Scuderia]

One step forward, two back.


(GMM) Mercedes' redesigned V8 engine is an improvement over the initial version, according to McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa.

But with his engine expiring in a cloud of smoke at Jerez last Friday, the Spaniard told the local 'Marca' newspaper that the team 'still has a long way to go'.

''I did feel an improvement,'' the 34-year-old confirmed. ''I do believe that we are on the right track.''

Sources have confirmed that the updated engine is significantly more powerful than the previous Mercedes V8 spec, but de la Rosa is cautious when musing about engine reliability.

''In the coming tests, the focus will very much be on collecting much more mileage,'' he said.

Like much of the F1 fraternity, McLaren will unfurl at Valencia this week, where Kimi Raikkonen will feature on a four day programme.

The Finn said: ''Hopefully we'll be able to complete some more running there.''

http://formula-1.updatesport.com/new...Rosa/view.html

[Jack_Bauer]

Well, I guess it's nothing we didn't already know. McLaren have been decidedly sluggish with their new car, even with their brand new V8 engines.

It is refreshing to see a senior figure in the team like Norbert Haug coming out and admitting their rubbishness! Not something that tends to happen too often in the ultra-PR savvy world of Formula 1, especially at McLaren under Ron Dennis.

Source: http://f1.racing-live.com/f1/en/inde...en/index.shtml

A senior representative of the McLaren-Mercedes team has admitted that the new MP4-21 racer is not ready to dominate Grand Prix in 2006.

Even with the newly revised V8 engine now up and running, Mercedes' competitor director Norbert Haug said progress at the silver team is currently lagging.

"We are not where we wanted to be in mid February," the German told Auto Motor Und Sport. "At the moment, we are perhaps where we should have been in the middle of December."

The new Mercedes V8, reportedly correcting problems with the inlet system and the pistons, has moved the MP4-21 closer to the leading pace.

But analysts still estimate that, if the Bahrain opener was held today, McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya would finish behind the two Renaults, the two Ferraris and the Hondas.

Haug maintained a similar theme in the Motorsport Aktuell magazine "Some teams are ahead of us. Certainly, we would not mind if we could add another month to our preparation time. But we are doing everything possible in order to be competitive for the first race in Bahrain. We have not had a dream start. We are behind where we want to be."

Source GMM

It's a bold claim, saying that they're a whole TWO MONTHS behind where they would want to be. They are definitely off the pace of the three teams mentioned above, and judging by the pace of the Williams cars at Valencia this week they could well be battling with the Grove based team for the last few points on offer in the early races of the season.

[Matra et Alpine]

I always take pre-first-race comments about how competitive a car is or isn't to be part of the tactics of F1
If teams believe that they may stop pushing the envelope for an extra 1/10s.