F1 | McLaren, Zak Brown: “We have improved, but there is still a gap with the top teams”

McLaren started 2019 well, with Lando Norris in splendid form and who took sixth place in Bahrain. The Woking team seems to have made a notable step forward in terms of chassis, and thanks to the new Renault engine specification the package really seems to work great. Some insiders have said that McLaren will be able to annoy Red Bull throughout the season, but the leaders of the British association do not want to say too much.

“Consistently fighting with Red Bull seems very optimistic to me as a consideration – said McLaren CEO Zak Brown ad Autosport. I was pleasantly surprised that we were very close to them over the weekend, but I think there is still a big gap between the top three teams and the rest of the field, and the Bahrain race won't change our opinions. We have certainly made a step forward, but the midfield teams are all very close, there is nothing between fourth and ninth. I think there will be weekends where we will be the fourth/fifth team and others where we will be eighth/ninth. So far we have been close to fourth in qualifying and the race, but it will depend on the track. We're very happy about Carlos and Lando: if you look at the other teams, some have a division between the two drivers, but I'm happy with what we have, because it can make the difference in the constructors' championship."