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[NHcheese]

I still cant tell where everyone is in terms of pace. Sure Mercedes are top. But it still isnt clear who comes after and in what order.

[CookinFlat6]

Do McLaren run their own Gearbox or is it Mercs?

[bud]

Do McLaren run their own Gearbox or is it Mercs?

Yeah McLaren run with their own box.

[Jabberwocky]

I don't like the new paint scheme. I keep thinking the car is black so it is a sauber

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[darwin dali]

I keep thinking the car is black so it is a sauber

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[Jabberwocky]

I liked them colours

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[LewEngBridewell]

OK, so firstly, according to Boullier, the clutch issue that affected both Button and Magnussen in the Bahrain GP, has now been diagnosed and fixed. That's good.

Here's a bit more from Boullier on the way ahead from here:

Boullier also agreed with Button's assertion that McLaren is currently second quickest behind Mercedes and reckons it can catch its Brackley-based rival in the near future.

"If you look at the performance from Jenson, we were potentially going to finish in front of the Force Indias," he said.

"So I agree that we could have been the best of the rest.

"We need to aggressively look to see if we can catch up with [Mercedes] and we will know if we are doing so within a few races, but we will try to close the gap to them as quickly as possible.

"The gap is huge, but a one-second gap is catchable.

"I know areas where we can work on and ways we can improve, so I say Mercedes is definitely catchable."

[spankyham]

That is really good news!

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[Jabberwocky]

I do not believe it is only a second a lap

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[Hammer278]

Yeah does Boullier really believe that.

[CookinFlat6]

I think anyone who understands F1 can read between the lines here and understand the difference between a corporate line thats appropriate for a team in negotiations with big spending sponsors at a high valuation and the need to be optimistic after a small set back weekend.

The clue here is the statement about 1 second behind being achievable. Ofcourse McLaren can catch up 1 sec on anyone over a season, they have the history and track record to back this up.

However did he really mean McLaren are 1 sec behind Merc or someone else? A bit ambigious there

I am not sure Bouiller would be putting hard cash on the gap to Merc been 1 sec, more like 2, if not 3. But thats another story. Whats good is that McLaren obviously have a game plan and are moving forward according to a Ron/Eric plan which will ofcourse encompass Honda arriving and getting ready for that and getting sponsors etc.

Its also great news that the issue was isolated and found in the McLaren transmission and not in the Merc side, because that would be very worrying if only Macca had problems where other customers didnt. Thats my biggest concern for Mac this season, is estrangement from Merc as Honda gets closer

[What's Burning?]

The winning margin in Bahrain was 24 seconds over 10 laps... that works out to a little bit more than a second a lap.

...and before you pipe in Sagi with your comment about Vettel being two seconds a lap faster than anyone else in Malaysia last year and we were calling Red Bull cheats, since you mentioned it elsewhere. I'd think about it a little more profoundly than reflexively.

These are new cars, new chassis, less aero, less grip, more torque, and a large variance in engine power with exactly 3 Grand Prix race weekends under their belt. Last year's cars had been essentially developed since 2009, with the engines having nearly a decade of development.

So Mercedes and their 2 seconds is not cheating, Red Bull and Vettel's two seconds remains highly suspect.

Here's to Eric Boulier, he's already done more at McLaren in three races than Whitmarsh did in the entirety of last year.

[CookinFlat6]

Also, lets consider this, after the safety car Button drops back out the points because he cant get the tyres warm enough and falls behind the cars that were faster in quali and out of the points.

What would a smart TP, who has the need to show sponsors McLaren are still the old top team?

Let Button finish the race or retire him amid claims that his car suffered the same problem as the other car that couldnt complete half the race with said problem

Interesting that Mag did the test this week ''to get more experience'

Could it be that the development of the car has finally swung in the only possible direction for any success this year?

[1Lemon]

Sorry cooking but button's tyres weren't the problem, the gearbox was having issues down shifting.

[CookinFlat6]

I hear ya, but i would need to see the full telemetry first before removing a certain doubt in my mind

anyway why let facts get in the way of a good bashing, its not like I created a whole thread or anything :naughtyjoke: