McLaren Drivers Set Pace in Australia
Ahead of the first qualifying session of the 201 Formula 1 season the big surprise is McLaren leading the way. After a winter of discontent for the UK team the sight of Button and Hamilton setting the two fastest times around the Melbourne track must have come as welcome relief. After some last minute changes McLaren look ready to lead the fight against Red Bull and Ferrari.
The big change McLaren have made is dumping the so-called “octopus” exhaust system that is pictured and instead they have built replicas of the Red Bull and Ferrari exhaust designs. The octopus design was intended to improve downforce but instead it did not appear to work and McLaren were well off the pace in pre-season testing.
The other big change for Hamilton and Button is the new front wing and with the new exhaust system these two modifications appear to be working:
“The new exhaust has definitely brought performance to the car – it feels much better, makes the handling more complete,” Button commented. “When you have downforce at the rear, you can also add it at the front, and then you put temperature in the tyres – there’s so much that comes with downforce.”
Hamilton was also positive with the way the car felt but was wary of the opposition and their cars:
“The grip level today felt like a big step forward,” he confirmed. “We don’t know what fuel loads the others are running, but our car feels like a big improvement from where we were just a few weeks ago.”
Q1 starts at 0600 GMT on Saturday and with all the talking nearly over the season is about to begin.
