McLaren has left “no stone unturned” to ensure the reliability problems at testing are resolved ahead of the Australian GP, racing director Eric Boullier has stated.
Following the British team’s switch to Renault engines for 2018, particularly the second week of running in Barcelona didn’t go to plan as issues with cooling led to hydraulic, electrical and turbo problems.
That caused concern among some that the significant step forward expected from McLaren may not happen but, ahead of Melbourne, Boullier is confident progress has been made.
“We didn’t have the reliability we had hoped for in winter testing, but all the issues we faced have since been addressed back at the factory,” the Frenchman claimed.
“There’s a huge amount of work going on behind the scenes to ensure we leave no stone unturned in our quest to extract the maximum pace we can from our new package from the first race.”
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Exactly where the Woking-based outfit will sit in the pecking order is somewhat unknown with the mechanical problems blighting the occasional burst of pace.
Boullier conceded as such referring to this season as a “new chapter” for McLaren and kept a lid on lifting expectations too high.
“There’s that palpable ‘back-to-school’ feeling of anticipation, where nobody really knows the form book until the lights go out on Sunday,” he said.
“We’re not expecting miracles to be worked overnight – far from it – but what we do know is that we’ll give it our all this weekend.”