McLaren: no excuses if team is not back in F1 2014 title fight
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh says there will be no excuses if his team is not back at the front in Formula 1 next year


As he welcomed the end of a campaign where McLaren failed to take a podium finish for the first time since 1980, Whitmarsh made it clear that the team had everything in place to stage a recovery next year.
"It has been a long season and it seemed longer than I have ever known a season," he said. "Now I am excited about the future and that is a nice thing.
"With the big rule change coming for 2014, it really is a clean sheet here.
"There are no excuses for next year."
The biggest uncertainty that teams face under the new regulations, however, is how competitive the engines of Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari will be.
Paddock speculation suggests Mercedes will have the advantage in terms of power and weight, but Whitmarsh knows that the only proof of that will come during testing next year.
"Will we have a competitive power train? I don't know," he said.
"There are lots of people who appear to be very knowledgeable down the pit lane, and I don't know what data they have got to know that.
"But having said that, what I know in terms of level of resource and type of organisation, I think they will have done a competent job and have applied the level of resources you would want on it.
"I suspect we will be competitive."

Whitmarsh said there were already encouraging signs about a performance lift from his team at the end of this year, even though it still did not achieve enough.
"I think the last four or five races we have flattered to deceive as it were," he said.
"I have sensed we did make progress.
"We were racing Ferrari and Lotus and Mercedes, but we didn't quite nail it.
"You can see we had similar pace, which is ironic given that the car hasn't touched the wind tunnel for about four months and we were not doing anything [to improve it]."

Felipe Massa Brazil GP penalty 'ridiculous' says Ferrari president
Mercedes Formula 1 team poised to announce Ross Brawn's departure

Latest news
Connecting two of Ferrari's favourite F1 sons
Gilles Villeneuve's exploits behind the wheel of a Ferrari made him a legend to the tifosi, even 40 years after his death. The team's current Formula 1 star Charles Leclerc enjoys a similar status, and recently got behind the wheel of a very special car from the French-Canadian’s career
How a 30cm metal wire triggered open warfare in the F1 paddock
Porpoising has become the key talking point during the 2022 Formula 1 season, as teams battle to come to terms with it. An FIA technical directive ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix and a second stay appearing on the Mercedes cars only served to create a bigger debate and raise tensions further
Does Verstappen have any weaknesses left?
Having extended his Formula 1 points lead with victory in Canada, Max Verstappen has raised his game further following his 2021 title triumph. Even on the days where Red Bull appears to be second best to Ferrari, Verstappen is getting the most out of the car in each race. So, does he have any weaknesses that his title rivals can exploit?
How F1's future fuels can shape the automotive sector
In 2026, Formula 1 plans to make the switch to a fully sustainable fuel, as the greater automotive world considers its own alternative propulsion methods. Biogasoline and e-fuels both have merit as 'drop-in' fuels but, equally, both have their shortcomings...
The breakthrough behind Sainz’s best weekend of F1 2022 so far
OPINION: Carlos Sainz came close to winning in Monaco but needed that race’s specific circumstances for his shot at a maiden Formula 1 victory to appear. Last weekend in Canada, he led the line for Ferrari in Charles Leclerc’s absence from the front. And there’s a key reason why Sainz has turned his 2022 form around
Canadian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2022
Plenty of high scores but just a single perfect 10 from the first Montreal race in three years, as Max Verstappen fended off late pressure from Carlos Sainz. Here’s Autosport’s assessment on the Formula 1 drivers from the Canadian Grand Prix
Why “faster” Ferrari couldn’t beat Red Bull in Canadian GP
On paper the Canadian Grand Prix will go down as Max Verstappen’s latest triumph, fending off late pressure from Carlos Sainz to extend his Formula 1 world championship lead. But as safety car periods, virtual and real, shook up the race Ferrari demonstrated it can take the fight to Red Bull after recent failures
The in-demand helmet designer creating works of art for F1's best
GP Racing’s OLEG KARPOV pays a visit to designer Jens Munser, to observe the production of Mick Schumacher’s special helmet for the Miami Grand Prix. What follows is some fascinating insight on the mindsets of Mick’s dad Michael, and family friend Sebastian Vettel