Since the beginning of the pre-season tests at the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya, the teams from Woking and Maranello have been very solid, both in reliability, running a lot on the track, and in speed, occupying the top positions in the time table.
Due to this, Mercedes directly pointed to McLaren and Ferrari as the two great threats of this new 2022 Formula 1 season, which will start in several weeks at the Bahrain Grand Prix , where the last three days of testing will also be held. wintery
Seeing the majority of rivals pointing to his garage, James Key , technical director of McLaren, wanted to take his eyes off him and assured that it was still very difficult to know where they are in terms of performance, although he did not hesitate to point to Ferrari .
“So far I’m happy with how these first few days have gone, the whole team has done a great job in the factory and here on track to get us to the point where we are.”
“It was a very complicated job to create this car and get it up and running. And obviously it’s a very good feeling to see the car working straight away,” he added.
Speaking more specifically about the level that each team has shown on the track so far, Key hinted that the same teams last season will be fighting for the top positions, but without losing sight of the Cavallino team.
“In terms of pecking order I think it’s still just impossible to say. But yes, I think the usual suspects (Mercedes and Red Bull) are there. Although from our point of view Ferrari has been the team that has made the best impression since the first minute.”
Finally, the McLaren driver was relaxed and acknowledged that despite the fact that the MCL36 has left very good sensations so far, they still have a lot of work to do to fully understand all its characteristics, as well as how to get the most out of it.
“There is still a lot to understand, also about our new car. But I can say that I am happy with where we are right now. Bahrain and let us know where we really are, at least at the beginning of the season”, concluded the technical director of the Woking team.
