McLaren: Australia Win Is Out of Our League

McLaren's new boss Martin Whitmarsh and reigning champion Lewis Hamilton expressed their concerns regarding the season opener in Australia, admitting that they don't expect the MP4-24 to be a front-runner at Albert Park. Although the Woking-based team have improved their car's performances during the late testing session at Jerez, neither of the two believe it would make a difference just yet.

“Despite weeks of winter testing, it’s still difficult to know exactly who has the best package, and finding out over the weekend in Albert Park is always fascinating. Perhaps McLaren Mercedes doesn’t come to Melbourne with the same prospects to challenge at the front that we experienced in both 2007 and ’08, but the whole team will be working tirelessly to help us move back to the front,” admitted Hamilton in a team's preview of the Aussie GP.

If Hamilton is still holding some hope ahead of the Melbourne race, Whitmarsh sure seems convinced his team will not leave Australia with the win in their pocket. The Englishman really left no room for interpretations.

“We go into the start of the 2009 season fully aware that we do not yet have the technical package that will allow our drivers to fight at the front. In Formula One, there is nowhere to hide: that’s what makes our sport so demanding and yet so endlessly fascinating,” revealed Whitmarsh.

“And as a team that goes Grand Prix racing with the expectation of winning races and challenging for world championships, we therefore go to Melbourne with realistic expectations,” added the McLaren boss.

The McLaren MP4-24 experienced plenty of reliability problems this winter, mainly during the last few group tests. At Jerez, earlier this week, the car showed some slight improvements, although it didn't quite kept the pace set by Renault and Brawn GP.