JUNE 29, 2004

McLaren and the MP4-19B

The McLaren team spent four days at Jerez last week, putting miles on the new MP4-19B and by the end of the test the team had completed a total of 689 laps, 1893 miles, of testing with the four different drivers.

The McLaren team spent four days at Jerez last week, putting miles on the new MP4-19B and by the end of the test the team had completed a total of 689 laps, 1893 miles, of testing with the four different drivers. The car did set the best time of the test with Pedro de la Rosa's 1m17.107s lap but later in the test the car was not a match when other cars were running on the track. On the final day, for example, Kimi Raikkonen was third quickest with a lap which was two-tenths slower than BAR test driver Anthony Davidson.

The team is expected to appear at Magny-Cours with three of the new versions of the car and down in Woking their will be optimism that the cars have been as reliable as they have shown themselves to be. It remains to be seen whether it will turn the team into a challenger for major results but whatever the case it is a step in the right direction.