Hamilton expecting further progressat Bahrain GP
Improvements in China to a car that had been woefully off the pace in Australia and Malaysia offered encouragement to a team that has hit the headlines of late for all the wrong reasons.
Hamilton and team-mate Heikki Kovalainen managed to finish sixth and fifth respectively at the rain-lashed Shanghai circuit behind the dominant Red Bull Racing and Brawn teams.
A more ‘routine’ race should unfold at the Sakhir circuit on Sunday with hot, dry conditions expected.
McLaren are also planning to roll out another series of upgrades as they look to further close the gap to the leaders, even if Hamilton appreciates a race win remains far from his grasp.
“We should have a few new components at Bahrain, so I hope we’ll continue with our progress,” he said.
“We seem to have a solid direction within the team, with all our upgrades invariably bringing a lap-time improvement. Our direction on set-up and strategy also shows what a strong group we still are.
“We are still several races away from being truly competitive, but a straightforward race at Bahrain would give us a very good opportunity to accurately assess where we sit among our rivals. But as long as we are moving forwards, it makes it more worthwhile and rewarding.
“I never thought I’d be so happy to make it into Q3 in Shanghai, but we did and that was a result of a huge team development effort. More of the same is what I am looking forward to.”
Despite the furore surrounding the ‘lie-gate’ scandal that will see the team in front of the World Motor Sport Council in Paris next Wednesday, Martin Whitmarsh believes the team’s efforts in China show they are all pulling in the same direction.
“The points we scored in China were encouraging,” said McLaren’s team principal. They showed that, even without a fully competitive car, we have lost none of our ability to attack over a weekend and to maximise every opportunity that comes our way.”
Norbert Haug, boss of engine suppliers Mercedes, knows nothing less than round-the-clock commitment will see the team back at the top.
“We lost six points in Australia by our own faults, and in Malaysia we should have scored more than one point,” reflected Haug.
“In China, for the first time we achieved what was achievable, but fifth and sixth places cannot be the target for the team starting with numbers one and two on their cars. After the first four flyaway races we have to deliver presentable progress in the next four races in Europe.
“However, it will be very challenging to move into the top three of the team ranking in such a short time. Our performance in dry conditions at least looked a step better in Shanghai than at the two races before and our aim is to continue in this direction. But we cannot expect miracles in Bahrain and everybody in the team is absolutely aware of the fact we have to work day and night in order to get back to the top of the field.”
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