McLaren is satisfied: the MCL35 presents no surprises

McLaren is in third position in the constructors' championship after three Grands Prixs and the British team can be happy about that. The MCL35 is not necessarily the best car, but thanks to good cooperation of the team and excellent performance of the drivers, they managed to rise above the material, Lando Norris said earlier. They can now see the car's strengths and weaknesses, which correspond to what was found during the winter tests.

Similar strengths and weaknesses

This principle satisfies the team, because it means that they are on the right course. James Key says in the preview of McLaren at the upcoming Grand Prix: "We have come away from the first triple-header recognising similar strengths and weaknesses in the car from those  we saw back at testing in Barcelona. This is good because it allows us to keep our priorities for development consistent with what we had previously planned."

"The British Grand Prix will see a continued evolution of the MCL35 with some developments that will be tested over the coming race weekend. We’ve got a unique challenge in balancing upgrades for this year while ensuring our 2021 car is moving ahead in parallel."

"As the only team to be changing engine partners between 2020 and 2021, our design work and planning for next year is more critical than for others." For that development Silverstone is a favourable circuit, because due to the different types of curves and the high speed it provides new data that they can use for future updates.

Testing in the coming weeks

The first race at Silverstone will be followed by a second and then Formula 1 will travel to Spain for the third Grand Prix in the triple header. McLaren also has tests planned for those races, Key says: "Looking ahead to the second grand prix at Silverstone and to Spain, we’ll have further test items to add to the car to provide new insight into potential development opportunities for the future."

Between the lines you can read that McLaren is doing well and that they have not run into any big surprises, which is good for the rest of the season. After all, they have limited opportunities to develop due to certain limitations and a much tighter season of course also makes it more difficult.