McLaren to trial ‘different philosophy’ to help MCL33 top speed

Fernando Alonso says McLaren's MCL33 will start first practice in Baku with a few aero tweaks in a bid to improve the car's top speed.

The Renault-powered charger has invariably been at the tail end of speed trap readings this season, a weakness particularly penalizing at this weekend's venue given Baku's challenging layout which includes the longest straight in F1.

Honda power pinned the McLarens down on the straight by as much as 15km/h last year. The team must attempt to improve its speed deficit if Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne are to have a chance of getting out of Q1 on Saturday, let alone making it into Q3.

"Here was quite a difficult grand prix for us in the past years," Alonso said on Thursday.

"We had some limitations on the power side.

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"It seems this year we still have quite a slow car on the straights but hopefully here we can improve that.

"We have a different philosophy, a different test, to do on Friday to gain some extra speed and hopefully we can minimise that deficit.

"We've not been in Q3 so far this year and I think it's going to be difficult again, but hopefully we are a little bit closer."

Alonso warned however that any big improvement in top speed would come to the detriment of the MCl33's handling elsewhere on the track, therefore emphasizing the difficulty in achieving the right balance.

"The compromises you make on one part will be quite bad for the other parts.

"We need to think carefully about that, tomorrow's just a test day so we will test different solutions.

"Overnight it's up to us to balance all of those solutions and make a decision.

"In a way, in a race situation there are not many overtaking maneuvers on the slow part of the circuit, because it's a narrow street circuit, so normally here to be faster on the straights would be a winning situation."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.