Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMcLaren

Positive signs from new McLaren aero components

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McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says the team saw "positive signs" from a number of new aero components in Austria.

Fernando Alonso was running a new aerodynamic package during the Austrian Grand Prix including a shorter nose, but his race lasted just a few corners before he was involved in a heavy crash with Kimi Raikkonen. While the car was badly damaged, McLaren still managed to test a number of new parts on the Wednesday after the race in Spielberg.

Boullier says he is pleased with what was achieved last week and has been encouraged by the performance shown by the updates.

“The team worked very hard in Austria with the limited running we had due to the bad weather, and we’ve completed a solid and varied test programme to arm us with a lot of useful information," Boullier said. "During the test we evaluated a number of different aero components, which so far have shown positive signs, so we’ll continue testing their effectiveness at Silverstone this weekend as we seek to continue improving our performance. Likewise, running without any major issues on both days was important."

However, Boullier is wary the Silverstone circuit is set to be another one which doesn't suit the MP4-30 and its current lack of outright power.

“The circuit is a real driver’s track and there are a few good opportunities to overtake, but it means good stability at high speed is essential for a strong lap. Fast circuits with long corners such as Silverstone don’t play to the strengths of our package, but we know the atmosphere will be electric and we will keep pushing for further improvements at every opportunity. Everyone at McLaren-Honda is looking forward to the weekend and we know the loyal and passionate support of the fans won’t let us down.”

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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.