Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMcLaren

McLaren confident in aero direction

McLaren test and development driver Oliver Turvey says the team has made the right decision to opt for a new aerodynamic direction this season.

With Honda joining as power unit supplier, McLaren has gone for a radical change in terms of its car design having been able to work so closely with the engine manufacturer. The result was a tightly-packaged car, with the team openly saying it has changed the way it works in terms of aerodynamics.

Turvey has worked on the development of a number of previous McLaren designs, and got his first taste of the MP4-30 during testing in Barcelona last week. When asked if he feels the team was right to make such a change, Turvey replied: "Definitely.

"The philosophy previously had been similar for a few years and this new direction I feel is a good direction, I think it makes the car more driveable and I think long-term it is a good direction. These concepts take time to develop and I am sure there is more potential in this package.

"It is exciting, for me as a test driver to be working with these engineers because there are quite a few engineers joining the team and new ideas and at the minute there is a lot of excitement and things to try. It has been an exciting year from a development point of view, so I think it has potential for the future."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.