Formula One news

McLaren pace improves significantly at Jerez

The speed of the McLaren-Mercedes MP4-24 looks to have made a rapid improvement following Wednesday's running in Jerez. The silver car, with Heikki Kovalainen at the wheel, set the third fastest lap seen in the south of Spain so far this winter.

Near perfect testing weather in Spain saw air temperatures of 21°C (70°F) with blue skies accompanied by the odd cloud; this was extremely useful for the two teams as similar conditions are expected for the first Grand Prix in Australia next weekend.

Modifications to the McLaren

With just McLaren and Williams left at the circuit, Kovalainen topped the two-car final classification with a lap in 1.18.202, a time only bettered so far this winter by Barrichello and Rosberg yesterday (Tuesday). The Finn completed 79 laps as the team finally showed signs of getting back on the title track. The Woking-based squad evaluated several new components on the MP4-24, with the rear wing's lower-centre region of particular interest.

Nakajima's Williams finished 1.2 seconds down on the McLaren with a best time of 1.20.014 for the Toyota-powered FW31, although the Japanese driver did complete the most laps with a total of 103. "Kazuki spent our penultimate day in Jerez working on the mechanical setup of the car and signing off final components for the first race in Melbourne," explained Technical Director Sam Michael.

Both teams will once again be present at the track tomorrow for this year's final day of pre-season testing.

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