McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh is confident his cars will be well suited to the unique demands of Monaco and is expecting a competitive race weekend.
The street circuit is like no other on the calendar and a quick lap time is less dependent on efficient downforce. Whitmarsh says the McLaren MP4-26 has already proved to be quick on tight sections of circuit and should be in the mix for victory this weekend.
"McLaren has an enviable record around the streets of the principality - we've won the race on 15 occasions which is more than any other team - and we go into next weekend aiming to make it 16," he said. "Our Barcelona race pace, in particular our sector three times, looked very respectable indeed last weekend - and hopefully that will give us a good idea of what to expect at Monaco, because it's a slow, stop-start section of the track. I think one of the strengths of the MP4-26 is its low-speed grip and traction, so I think we should be in good shape from the start of the weekend."
One advantage McLaren has had over its rivals Red Bull in the opening race of the season is its reliable and efficient KERS system. There had been some speculation that teams might not run KERS in Monaco due to the added complexities on a circuit where there are few long straights, but Jenson Button believes it will work to McLaren's advantage.
"There's been some suggestion that KERS Hybrid might not provide a useful lap time benefit around Monaco, because you might think you couldn't really exploit it to give you a boost onto a straight," he said. "But our simulations suggest that it's worth as much at Monaco as it is pretty much anywhere else, which is another positive because I think that the Mercedes-Benz unit is the best in Formula One."
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