It is not the best script for a start of the season. It has not been the engine as in the previous years, but Fernando Alonso has not been able to drive more than six laps during the morning of the first test day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. In the last part of the circuit, the Mclaren lost his rear right wheel and has sent Fernando Alonso to the gravel.
Zak Brown, CEO of Mclaren, has come out in what was Mclaren’s first press conference this season that has just begun. The reason for the accident, a defective nut: “We have lost the wheel, a defective nut, we will return to the track this afternoon. The car is in perfect state”, said Brown, who wanted to take the matter off: “This is what the tests are about, all the teams will have problems during the week, and with this we will lose very little time.”
Alarms have jumped, as it could not be otherwise after the last three years, and Zak has wanted to calm the atmosphere: “It is not a drama. In the team we are all very relaxed. The team is used to working under pressure. We like it and do not feel more pressure than which we put ourselves”, Brown said. He had to answer the ironic question of the good start of Toro Rosso and Honda: “I do not think anyone will have the test without problems. We wish Honda the best, with Toro Rosso, they are a great team, but we are focused on our program.”
After the accident, Fernando Alonso’s contract reappeared: “Alonso has a contract with us, we do not want to see further, or look at contract clauses. He is very happy here in Mclaren. He was never as happy as now and his desire is to continue at Mclaren and we want him to retire at Mclaren, not only in F1, but in all possible competitions”, said Zak Brown, who does not set goals for Mclaren’s season: “We have not set goals for the season, but we want to be competitive, it’s our goal. A podium, five podiums … everything will depend on our work. We want to see Stoffel and Fernando being competitive. “
Without reference to see the first sensations of the Mclaren-Renault union, Zak wanted to highlight the good feelings between the two brands: “With Renault everything is going very well, we have a very close relationship, we are all working very hard this preseason, both we enjoy working together, the facilities are ideal, everything is going very well “.
The Mclaren is one of the cars with fewer sponsors on the grid, although that does not worry Zak: “No, we do not want a sponsor to name the Mclaren, we want to keep our name so we are not interested in selling the team name. Sponsors are very difficult to get, we have achieved a few this preseason that is more than any team. It is clear that more money we earn, more we can invest in the car. We are working”.
Brown himself has announced that Eric Boullier will speak this afternoon. The Mclaren has went out to track again before the break time.
