McLaren's good accounting operation in Bahrain

Before Sergio Pérez's engine (Racing Point) goes up in smoke, the accounting operation of McLaren in view of the arrival of Bahrain Grand Prix remained interesting.

With the 5th and 6th places of Lando Norris et Carlos Sainz, the Woking firm would score more points than the Mexican and the Otmar Szafnauer team, further relaunching the fight for 3rd place in the Manufacturers' championship.

Except that the explosion of the V6 turbo / hybrid of the RP20 n°11 and the zero points of Racing Point completely changed the face of the debates, McLaren finally scoring 22 points and taking a lead of 17 points over its rival before the last two races in Sakhir and Abu Dhabi.

A result which will count at the end of the season, especially since the MC35s did not start from the first positions on the grid.

“From 9th and 15th on the grid to 4th and 5th places at the checkered flag was a great recovery, underlines Andreas Seidl, McLaren Team Principal. The execution of the race today was perfect, with the right choices in terms of tires and race strategy and good work in the pit stops.

But we cannot allow ourselves to be carried away by this. Our goal for the last two races must be to qualify further up the grid. »

“For the first time in a long time we had a good race, highlights Norris, who returns to the top 5 for the first time since Monza. I think everything worked out pretty much perfectly for us.

Both starts were really good, which put us in a good position ahead of the Renault. I know there was a lot of action, but I think we just had a good strategy and we did what we needed to do.

My race wasn't boring, but it was pretty straightforward and we stuck to our plan and focused on ourselves. »

It is up to McLaren to confirm this result this weekend on the new version of the Sakhir circuit, which will be used by the F1 for the first time in its history. History of almost definitively validating a podium in the Manufacturers' ranking that McLaren has been seeking since 2012.

Discover the full report and analysis of the Bahrain Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondent in Sakhir, in issue 2289 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.