Opposing destinies at McLaren

The day was going to be difficult for McLaren, and the setbacks of Kevin Magnussen even before the start of the Australian Grand Prix quickly confirmed this feeling. Victim of a problem again “not specified on the Power Unit” in the words of Eric boullier the Competition Director of McLaren Racing, the Dane was unable to reach the grid before the start of the formation lap and admitted his frustration.

Ranked 11th and last in the Grand Prix, Jenson Button on the other hand noted the positive points of his race. “We're still a long way away, but it's a good starting point and I enjoyed the race, declares the 2009 World Champion. I even had a good little battle with Checo (Pérez). Today will help us in terms of development: we learned a lot by completing a race distance. There is a lot of work still needed, on power, handling, downforce and settings, but we can make great progress. »

Progress that could coincide with the expected return of Fernando Alonso at the wheel of the MP4-30 – Honda for the next round of the season, March 29 at Sepang in Malaysia.

Find the full report of the Australian Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Melbourne, in issue 2003 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version, and on newsstands from Wednesday.