McLaren confirms MP4-18 delay

The test programme for the new car suffered a major setback last week when test driver Alexander Wurz suffered a huge crash, which meant the team's efforts were focused on the sole remaining chassis. Although the new car appears to be quicker than the current MP4-17D, its reliability is not sufficient to merit a race debut in this weekend's European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring as originally planned.

"It is imperative that we do not jeopardise our campaign by introducing a car which has not been developed sufficiently to achieve the requisite level of reliability," said a McLaren spokesperson. "The logistical challenges of the two back-to-back races at the Nurburgring and Magny-Cours do not support an introduction of the new car during these races. We will therefore only introduce the new car once we are confident that it will enhance our championship programme."

Kimi Raikkonen also suffered a big crash in the new car at Barcelona three weeks ago. Due to the double-header races in Germany and at the French GP on July 6, the next chance McLaren will get to test the MP4-18A will be at Barcelona the week after the Magny-Cours race. That will be crucial as to whether the machine will be raced at Silverstone.