McLaren/Mercedes looking good in the "winter world championship"
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MBWorld Fanatic!
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2002 C230 K
McLaren/Mercedes looking good in the "winter world championship"
Well, after the first month of testing the new MP4-17 it looks like the car should perform reasonably well. It has been consistently setting fast laps at most of the circuits where it has tested. Wurz claims they have gained about a second a lap just by switching to Michelin (apparently last years Bridgestones were better suited to the Ferrari's handling characteristics). Yesterday the McLarens were nearly 3-4 seconds a lap faster at Valencia, Spain than the Jags (admittedly not the best benchmark). Unfortunately, rumors that had been circulating about underperformance from both Williams and Ferrari are looking to be untrue - so until Australia or testing at a common venue at the same time it is difficult to tell where McLaren truly stands. Last week the Williams did go faster at Barcelona than McLaren had the week prior to that (after apparently sandbagging for most of the sessions) - but considering weather, fuel loads, etc. it's hard to truly quantify the difference.
Looks like we're in for an interesting season.
BT
Looks like we're in for an interesting season.
BT
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2002
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From: San Francisco, CA
1996 C36 AMG, 1995 Volvo 850 Turbowagon
3 top competitors definitely better than the 2 we've seen from ferrari/mb last few years. too bad jags can't seem to find the right boss...too many changes to see growth. interesting to see how well toyota does in their maiden season. renault is back too. wish honda would do a fully factory-backed works team instead of suppling engines to two houses. if any of the four could do well and actually be competitive with the top three...man...are we in for the races 
