McLaren ended last season without fully understanding where it went so wrong with the 2013 car.<\/p>\n
That is the claim of the Woking based team’s main test driver Gary Paffett, as he reveals that he has been testing the all-new 2014-specification MP4-29 in the simulator.<\/p>\n
“We certainly feel it is a bit of a fresh start for everybody and we are pushing very hard to make sure we get on top of it from the start,” he told the British broadcaster Sky.<\/p>\n
Uncharacteristically for the great British team, McLaren finished last season a distant fifth in the constructors’ world championship, having dramatically erred with the design of the MP4-28.<\/p>\n
But with the rules changing so radically for 2014, the team decided to design its next car with a clean slate, rather than try to rectify every problem with the 2013 car, Paffett explained.<\/p>\n
He admitted that McLaren engineers do not even know why the MP4-28 was so bad.<\/p>\n
“I think if we had fully identified it (the problem) we would have been a lot more competitive at the end of the year,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I think the problem was some of the areas were too big to fix during the season.”<\/p>\n
With Lotus having pulled out of the forthcoming first winter test at Jerez, the media’s attention has now turned to whether other high-profile teams will also be missing in action as the crucial 2014 pre-season begins.<\/p>\n
But Paffett said McLaren is right on track.<\/p>\n
“Yes, I’ve seen the car in the workshop, they are working hard and the car will be in Jerez,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It is going to plan but I think just understanding the (V6) powertrain and how it all works is going to be the first target which isn’t going to be too easy I don’t think.”<\/p>\n
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