McLaren, the reign of Friday

Lewis Hamilton got used to it. On Friday afternoon, he was the fastest driver in the second free practice session of the Chinese Grand Prix, as he had previously done in Australia and Malaysia. Except for the Bahrain Grand Prix, McLaren placed one of its drivers at the head of the Friday sessions five times out of six. But the Woking team cannot use this argument as proof of performance because, in the Saturday sessions, the Red Bull and Ferrari come back to the charge each time.

Moreover, Lewis Hamilton, who collected four best times during the eight Friday sessions this season, knows that nothing is a foregone conclusion. “ We are at the top of the timesheet for both sessions today but that doesn't necessarily mean we are favorites for the race, says the 2008 World Champion. The car is good but our pace seems similar to other cars on long runs. »

In addition, Hamilton is certain that the MP4-25 does not take an insane advantage from its F-Duct, a system allowing a flow of air to flow under the hull of the car, to exit at the level of the spoiler rear and remove part of the aerodynamic downforce on straight lines. “ Everyone says we have a straight line advantage but that's not true. Other cars reach the same top speed as ours at the end of the straight. We are going faster than some teams but they benefit from more support. The key is to have a good balance between the two, and I think we have it. »