The best winter test in a long time for McLaren

We remember the single-seaters of Woking immobilized on the track during winter testing in recent seasons, particularly during a Honda era that was complicated to manage for the British team.

Andreas Seidl's men showed a completely different side during the past week in Barcelona, ​​with a MCL35 turning like a clock on the Catalan track, Lando Norris et Carlos Sainz showing impeccable diligence on the track.

Au figures for the three days of driving, McLaren concluded with the third kilometer accumulation behind the convicts of the track who were Mercedes et Red Bull.

“I am very satisfied with the results of these tests, thanks to careful preparation and very disciplined execution by the entire team, Seidl emphasizes. We were able to tick all the boxes we had on our list for this first part of the winter testing campaign.

In terms of reliability, this was the best first winter test we've had in many years. It’s a great reward for everyone on the team, and proof that the hard work over the winter is paying off. »

And if the orange single-seaters did not break the screen in terms of time, Sainz and Norris not wearing the softest tires, the result of the week delighted the English management.

“As far as performance is concerned, the car behaved as expected given the different stages and tests we carried out over the last three days, continues the team principal of the team.

We will use the next few days to analyze all the data collected in detail. We will return next Wednesday and continue working on our preparation for Melbourne and extracting more performance from the MCL35. »

All the information and the complete analysis of these tests, carried out by our special correspondents in Catalonia, can be found in AUTO issue 2256hebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version, and from next Wednesday on newsstands.

In the meantime, remember that our Guide F1 2020 is available in digital version and on newsstands.