James Key proud that McLaren is unveiling a 'real car'

McLaren technical director James Key says that he's proud the team has been able to show off a genuine version of its 2022 contender at the official unveiling, which took place on Friday night at the team's headquarters.

Haas and Red Bull used generic chassis rendering and show cars to reveal their new livery designs, but McLaren and Aston Martin have both rolled out a version of the actual chassis that will be in action later this month in pre-season testing.

“I think we can be proud of presenting a real car, because it absolutely is,” Key told the media at McLaren Technology Centre in Woking. “It’s the car we’ll be taking to Barcelona."

• Read also: McLaren unveils new-look MCL36 challenger for 2022 campaign

However, Key admitted that not everything had been revealed on the official photographs released by the team. “Yes, we’ve hidden a few bits and pieces for obvious reasons," he acknowledged. "There are some sensitive areas!"

New rules and regulations being introduced this year mean that teams have had a lot of work to do redesigning their cars after several relatively stable seasons, and a brand new look compared to 2021.

And what you see now is unlikely to be the way things stay for long, with much development work expected before the season opener in Bahrain next month and over the first races of the season.

"As far as the development plan is concerned - like every team, I’m sure - we have development steps to come early on because it is still very much a learning process at this stage.

“We’ll be bringing some updates to Bahrain," he confirmed. "The next parts are already in process now so I think we’ll see the car chang. I’m sure everyone’s car is going to change.”

Key detailed the three major areas his team was working on, starting with ensuring that it performs as expected on track compared to all the computer design and wind tunnel testing.

“I think there’s three phases to this,” he said. “The first is learning your car. Does it correlate? Does it do what you expect it to do? You have directions on how you want to develop and how you want to move forward.

“The next [phase] is getting a rough idea of where you are," he continued. "[Currently] we don’t know. I think that will change dramatically through the season anyway.

"But getting a rough idea may bring some developments that are already in process now - based on our own knowledge - forward, just to try and plug the gap.

“Then there’s all the information you get from nine other teams. They’ve all faced the same challenges and problems," he said. "Looking at what others are doing and where the trends are beginning to emerge.

"I think it will influence all of us as to what we do next and how we approach our development process.

"They’ve all faced the same challenges and problems that we have, to try to squeeze as much performance out of a set of regulations which appear to be simpler but actually are surprisingly complex in nature."

“I think there’s so much development potential still in these cars," he insisted. “There’s less of a philosophy behind how these cars work, which I think will emerge over time.

"That means it’s never too late to catch up if you are on the back foot. Or for that matter, drop back if you start well!

“The season is going to ebb and flow, and it is going to be very transient as to who’s there on the day as we progress.

"The pecking order will map out later in the season - or certainly later in the season than the first race.”

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