McLaren thought they would be a little closer in Shanghai
McLaren must be delighted that Manor is still on the grid: it spares them from starting on the last row. However, free practice sessions had suggested that the two cars might be closer to the drivers in front of them. Yet, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso will again start 17th and 18th.
McLaren’s ordeal continues at the start of this season. However, a slight improvement was seen during Friday’s practice, with Jenson Button managing to break into the top 10 for the first time this season. But the team faced harsh reality again by Saturday morning when Fernando Alonso couldn’t complete more than one lap due to an engine problem.
The qualifying sessions ended just like in Sepang: both drivers couldn’t make it past Q1, which has always been the case since the start of the season. Nevertheless, the two men seem to have truly gotten the best out of their car as they are almost neck and neck: only 4 thousandths of a second separate their best times!
Eric Boullier, the team’s racing director, could only praise the work of his drivers, who can’t perform miracles with the car at their disposal: « Fernando’s afternoon was obviously affected by his car’s failure during FP3, but he responded brilliantly. The equality between our two drivers today demonstrates exactly why we hired them: they can extract the absolute maximum from the car and leave nothing on the track. Superb! »
Now the main objective is quite modest but would be a real advancement compared to Malaysia: finishing the race, as Fernando Alonso acknowledges: « Our main priority now is to finish tomorrow’s race. This will allow us to learn more about the car and uncover new issues. Obviously, two retirements in Malaysia were not an ideal situation for us. So, no matter the result, we must finish the race here in China. »
