Autosport - 5 March 2015 | Page 60

WorldMags.net G A RY A N D E R S O N ' S TEAM BY TEAM S BLOXHAM/LAT McLaren “There is a genuine risk McLaren will start the season battling with the smaller teams in the scrap for the minor points positions” McLaren-Honda MP4-30 FERNANDO ALONSO M 60 AUTOSPORT.COM MARCH 5 2015 14 33 Age: Starts: 234 First GP: Australia 2001 Wins: 32 Poles: 22 Fastest laps: 21 2014 position: 6th JENSON BUTTON 22 Age: 35 Starts: 266 First GP: Australia 2000 Wins: 15 Poles: 8 Fastest laps: 8 2014 position: 8th You know exactly what you are going to get with Alonso. He will drive the car to its maximum on race day and is still among the very best drivers out there. He seems happy enough on his return to McLaren, although the fact that he was kept in hospital for several days after his Barcelona crash and missed the final test is a concern. Button is one of those drivers who needs to have the car the way he likes it, with a stable rear end so he can carry the speed into the corner. If the McLaren isn’t well suited to him, I can see him really struggling against Alonso. But as he showed when he was up against Lewis Hamilton, you can’t underestimate Jenson. MP4-30 has yet to give meaningful feedback WorldMags.net TEE/LAT cLaren goes into the season off the back of a very disappointing time in pre-season testing, with too many problems and not enough laps. I’m very disappointed to see how poorly things have gone and, while Honda has had plenty of difficulties, McLaren is its works partner so also has to shoulder some of the blame. These problems mean that we haven’t really seen what the car is capable of. There is a genuine risk that it will start the season battling with the smaller teams in the scrap for the minor points positions rather than where a team of McLaren’s standing should be. We always talk about McLaren as one of the top teams, but you have to question its record in recent years. There has only been one title in the 21st century, which is not good enough for all that money spent and it suggests that there are still wider problems there technically. And most worryingly, there always seems to be an excuse. Yes, McLaren and Honda are still in the early days and yes, there is plenty of room for improvement but, given all the recent talk about aggressive cars and the engine being able to take on Mercedes, there are no excuses. The most surprising thing was a pre-season comment made about the team’s new head of aerodynamics, Peter Prodromou, who apparently pointed out McLaren had been focusing on ‘peaky’ downforce rather than aero consistency in recent years. That the problem has been recognised is positive, but you don’t have to be Adrian Newey to know that downforce isn’t worth anything if it’s not there consistently. McLaren has a lot to prove; the pressure is on. XPB IMAGES SEASON 60 PREVIEW Starts: 761 First GP: Monaco 1966 Wins: 182 Poles: 155 Fastest laps: 152 2014 championship position: 5th Drivers Button (pictured) and Alonso have done little mileage Alonso chats with Peter Prodromou