“Sepang is a circuit I really love. It’s big, fast and wide with some really demanding high-speed corners where you can find a lot of time if you’re really able to get the car working to its full extent.
“After the pace we showed in Melbourne, I think we can have another good race in Malaysia. Albert Park is a great track, but a circuit like Sepang is where the differences between the cars will start to become clearer.
“I’m really looking forward to using KERS Hybrid and the DRS too – the rapid change of direction you experience when the car is really in the groove is phenomenal around here, and I think both systems will make the cars look sensational, especially in qualifying.
“The team have looked into the floor failure we experienced in Melbourne: it seems like the bond between the bib and the chassis was damaged so the damage looked quite bad by the end of the race. It was good to see that the car could withstand that sort of punishment, but, even so, I’m looking to give it an easier ride in Malaysia next week!”
Martin Whitmarsh
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“Sepang is a demanding, high-speed circuit that is likely to showcase the performance of those cars with the best levels of grip and downforce, and which can best manage the tyres at what will be their hottest and toughest test so far.
“It goes without saying that Malaysia will be hot. It’s not only a severe test of each car’s cooling solutions, and with track temperatures expected to be between 20 and 30degC higher than anything else we’ve seen this year, tyre management will also be crucial.
“As with every season, we’re pushing hard to bring developments to the car for every race. We don’t think Melbourne showed us the best of our competitors’ pace, so that only makes us more motivated to bring as much performance to the table as possible.
“On paper, it looks positive: we were pleased that our Melbourne upgrade worked as expected, and the car’s performance around the high-speed elements of Albert Park suggests it will be able to cope around Sepang.
“Despite this, the reality is that there was a gap to pole position, and we finished second and not first. Our target is to close that gap and get Lewis and Jenson into a position where they can win.”
