McLaren-Mercedes’ Norbert Haug has defended the team after Kimi Raikkonen suffered two near-identical mechanical failures in Monte Carlo.
The second, Mercedes’ competition director reckoned to ‘RTL’, cost the Finn victory on Sunday.
”The heat shields near the exhaust are obviously too closely together,” Haug said, explaining why fires doused the Finn’s power both on Thursday during practice and in the race.
Haug said McLaren, which introduced the new cooling system at Monaco, was right to push the envelope in the chase to return to victory.
He explained: ”We have to push.
”You may criticise us and say that our cooling systems should have been better, but if you do not push to the extreme then you will not catch up in F1.”
Haug, meanwhile, played down the possibility that the problem could re-occur at Silverstone in two weeks.gmmf1dailyf1news.com
