McLaren: “Difficult overtaking in Barcelona”

Despite the poor performance of McLaren at the F1 tests in Mugello, busy only with test drivers Gary Paffett and Oliver Turvey and without significant times, the drivers of the English team are optimistic for the next grand prix, the Spanish one which will be held on Montmelò circuit in Barcelona between two Sundays.

“Barcelona can be defined as a fun circuit: by carrying out the winter tests there, we know the track inside out but that doesn't mean it will be easy to get a result”, explained Jenson Button. “We are ready for the track setup but despite having a well-prepared car we know that it is the small differences that determine the order of arrival. To win we will have to have everything in order: it is a place that punishes poor balance like almost no other. If the car is understeering you will have to really struggle. I think it will be important to have a lot of load especially in turns seven and eight and in the fast turn nine.".

Lewis Hamilton wants to repeat last year's good race, when he chased Sebastian Vettel to the end: “Our performance in Barcelona during the winter tests looked promising, but the season values ​​are still very difficult to read, so it is difficult to predict who will excel”, the Englishman explained. “However, we had a great race last year, I pushed Sebastian all the way to the finish and I think we have a relatively stronger car this year, so hopefully we can have another good race. It will be interesting to see what overtaking will be like this year, as Barcelona has always been a difficult place to pass, as I discovered last year. However, I hope that the combined use of DRS and KERS will make things a little easier. . I think it will be one of the most difficult tracks of the year for overtaking, but hoping for a good performance in qualifying, we will try to make the race as simple as possible"Hamilton concluded.

Lorena Bianchi