Rethink required for McLaren
McLaren admit their world championship ambitions have been put on the back-burner after being found “wanting” in Spain at the weekend.
The Woking-based team expected to push Renault and Ferrari hard in Barcelona after showing progress at the Nurburgring but they left Spain with just a fifth place from Kimi Raikkonen.
That leaves the Finn 27 points adrift of Fernando Alonso in the championship, with McLaren 36 short of Renault in the constructors’ standings.
Managing director Martin Whitmarsh was surprised by the Spanish disappointment and is focusing on returning McLaren to the front of the grid before dreaming of a championship challenge.
He said: “We really have to develop the car. We were shown wanting this weekend – we had the third-best car. We got fifth but that is not what we are here to do.
“Looking at the championship, it is very much our goal to go to each race and try to win.
“At the moment we shouldn’t be focusing on the championship but on making our car go quicker and winning some races, then we will really think about how we tackle the rest of the year at that point.”
But Whitmarsh admitted there will be no quick fix to restore McLaren’s race-winning habit.
He added: “If you slip back by one per cent in performance you really are struggling, it is that competitive.
“I don’t think there is a single issue you can pick on, there won’t be a golden bullet that’s going to fix the issues, you have to work everywhere. We have made progress but not enough progress.”
As well as a surprise dip in pace, Whitmarsh and McLaren could also be facing up to the departure of their top driver before the season is out.
Raikkonen’s contract expires this year and he has been strongly linked to Ferrari, with world champions Renault also emerging as potential suitors.
His fate could be confirmed at the Italian Grand Prix on September 10 after Ferrari boss Jean Todt revealed that was his preferred date to announce their 2007 driver line-up.
He is waiting to learn whether Michael Schumacher will continue racing but hinted there are no reasons why the seven-time world champion would want out at Ferrari.
He said: “We have a good harmony in the team. Everyone knows that Michael is spoiled here, which he deserves. He is like a spoilt kid in the team, together with Felipe Massa.
“We need to make sure that Ferrari is in a strong situation for the present and for the future. That’s what we will do and together with Michael, when he feels comfortable with the announcement, we should announce something around Monza.”
