Formula One news

Major boost for McLaren

McLaren-Mercedes surprised all in China when Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in Friday's first practice session. The World Champion finished ahead of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello's Brawns, with the second McLaren of Kovalainen also showing good form with fourth position.

The rapid rise of the silver arrows was thanks to modifications on the diffuser of the MP4-24, as the installation of a new winglet under the rear safety light resulted in instantly competitive lap times from Lewis Hamilton. The car also sported a new six-plane front wing, designed especially to assist airflow to the altered diffuser. "The car instantly felt a bit better," Hamilton said later. "I can definitely feel more stability and downforce from the front - we've made a step forward for this race, the car feels much stronger through the corners and I think we've got a very positive baseline for the rest of the weekend."

Particular plaudits must go to Heikki Kovalainen, though, after the Finn's fourth fastest morning time came without the addition of either the new front wing or the diffuser changes, before then trying out the wing in the afternoon. "I'm very impressed by the performance upgrades for this race," he confirmed. "We still need to do more work to find the best balance, but our car definitely feels more stable here."

Although - like rivals Ferrari - McLaren lingered in the midfield on the timesheets of the second practice period, today's results will come as great encouragement to the team, which could now be in a position to consistently challenge for points.


You can see a comparison of McLaren's current and previous diffuser configurations here

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