Top team management has now backed Kimi Raikkonen’s claim that the 2006 world championship is hardly a burning prospect.
Woking’s ‘F1 CEO’ Martin Whitmarsh, who saw the team’s Finnish driver finish nearly a minute behind the winner in Spain, admitted that McLaren ‘shouldn’t be focusing’ on the sport’s biggest prize.
Despite producing a benchmark car for last year’s calendar, McLaren has not won a single F1 title since 1999.
Whitmarsh told Reuters: ”We should be focusing on making our car go quicker and winning some races.
”The gap is bigger than we expected and (that is) disappointing.”
Mercedes’ competition chief, Norbert Haug, also dispensed with the excuses and plainly admitted that the MP4-21 is ‘too slow’ at present.
The German said: ”We have the same tyres as Renault but they win and we come fifth. Third best is not good enough.”
Jordan’s former technical director, Gary Anderson, has a theory about the Woking based team’s lack of pace.
”I do think they are suffering the consequences of Adrian (Newey) leaving,” the Irishman told ‘Setanta’.gmmf1 dailyf1news.com
