NEXT RACE - 11th May

McLaren play down possible Ferrari advantage

Friday 28th March 2008

McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh has played down suggestions that Ferrari will have a clear edge at the Bahrain Grand Prix next weekend.

Of the eleven teams, only Ferrari and Toyota decided to test at the Sakhir circuit during winter.

Whitmarsh is confident McLaren's decision to skip testing in Bahrain won't backfire.

"Of course we would have liked to test in Bahrain but we do have to prioritise where we spend our time," Whitmarsh said.

"Over the winter we have improved the aerodynamic efficiency of the car and cooling generally so it's not currently one of our vulnerable points.

"We have good data from running at the Bahrain track in previous years so we are confident it will not prove too much of a disadvantage."

Whitmarsh says the team is working hard behind the scenes to improve the car ahead of the next race.

"The focus has been on reliability after the first two races which on the circuit have been pleasing but as always behind the scenes there are lots of things you need to attend to," he said.

"In particular the pitstops and the problem we experienced in Malaysia with Lewis' right front wheel. We have good pace in the car and need to maintain our momentum so obviously we have continued to develop the car in the wind tunnel.

"However we are still evaluating whether we will take some of the aerodynamic developments with us to Bahrain."

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