Carlos Sainz believes McLaren “have something to fight with” this season after a clear engine improvement at the Australian Grand Prix.
McLaren are still working with Renault engines for 2019 despite criticism and obvious problems with their reliability over the past few years Red Bull have ditched the French manufacturer this year but Sainz, who drove for Renault’s own team between 2017-18, is much happier with the engine in his MCL34 car after joining the team over the close-season. “I feel a step in the right direction,” said Sainz.
Related: Ferrari Dominate Friday Practice In Belgium
“I still think we are a bit behind the Ferrari and Mercedes engines, but it definitely feels like we have something to fight with now, finally. “I have done four years in Formula 1, all those four years has been 10km/h down on all the straights.
So, finally, to be turning up to Melbourne and to be just 2/3km/h down maybe on the top teams is a really, really encouraging scenario. “They seem to have clear ideas of how to develop the engine during the year, so that gives some positive vibes also.
I would praise Renault in that sense because it finally seems like they’ve done the step that we were needing two years ago.” Despite his optimism, Sainz was forced to retire in Melbourne in the season-opening GP on Sunday early with suspected engine failure, while McLaren team-mate Lando Norris finished down the grid in 12th.
