Why can’t McLaren test 2018 car like Ferrari and Mercedes?

Why can’t McLaren test 2018 car like Ferrari and Mercedes have planned to do? McLaren chief Andrew Seidl explains the reason behind.

With the start of the Formula 1 season around the corner, teams started testing older versions of the cars they’ll be piloting soon. Mercedes were the first to announce the testing of the W09 at Silverstone, in the coming week.

Followed by Ferrari, who announced that they’ll be testing their 2018 car at Fiorano soon. But McLaren has declined to do so and McLaren chief Andrew Seidl has pointed out the reason behind it.

“On the drivers’ side we don’t have this possibility of having a car that is two years old and we could operate, because of all the powertrain switches we had here in recent years,” said Seidl to the Skysports.

However, that doesn’t mean that McLaren’s drivers have been sitting idle. Seidl said, “As you have seen already, Lando was doing some karting and F3 testing.”

“We’re looking into the second thing also now with Carlos to have the drivers ready. Also, we will do some simulator work with them.” he further said.

Seidl said that he’s confident for the upcoming season and that while no testing has been possible for the drivers, Mclaren continues to work on their car.

Also read: Nico Rosberg explains why Charles Leclerc would have an advantage over Lewis Hamilton once season stars

He said, “We are preparing the cars at the moment. we are trying to go through the procedures and processes in the garage for these new circumstances with all the social distancing.

“I’m happy with the steps we are taking here as a team. I think with what we know now, the process that has been outlined by the FIA and Formula 1 in terms of how we actually execute the race weekend in Austria.”

“It’s simply about focusing on preparations for the next weeks. Hopefully, we have a good start in Austria.” He concluded.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

Read More