UpdateF1 >> Formula 1 News > Friday quotes: McLaren

Impressed with upgrades

Heikki Kovalainen (P4/P9):
"I'm very impressed by the performance upgrades for this race. We still need to do more work to find the best balance, but our car definitely feels more stable here."

Lewis Hamilton (P1/P13):
"The car instantly felt a bit better. I can definitely feel more stability and downforce from the front. We've definitely made a step forward for this race," he concluded. "The car feels much stronger through the corners and I think we've got a very positive baseline for the rest of the weekend.

"My first run on the options felt quite consistent. "The drop-off definitely feels manageable. This was a good day, although we still need to work on MP4-24's medium- and high-speed balance."

Martin Whitmarsh - team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes:
"The team, both at the track and back in the factory, has done a fantastic job to get these bodywork upgrades to Shanghai – and initial analysis would suggest that they have contributed to a slight uplift in our overall competitiveness.

"We are still working on MP4-24's overall balance, but nonetheless concluded some productive tyre evaluation work. Heikki's day was compromised by a hydraulic system problem which failed to adjust his front wing flaps correctly, a fault that distracted both him and his engineers from their regular programme."

Norbert Haug – vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
"Seeing Lewis in P1 after this morning's session brought back some good memories – although we are aware that the team's package is not yet competitive. Still, the improvements we have made to the car – which are particularly relentless at the moment – should see us making another encouraging step forward.

"Sunday's race will be greatly influenced by the performance over a stint of the Bridgestone super-soft, but our consistency on both tyres looks quite okay at this early stage of the weekend."

Written: Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:54:12