McLaren Won't Race New Car before Canada

McLaren boss Ron Dennis said today that his team will not introduce their new car before the Canadian Grand Prix in June.

"No sooner than Canada and no later than Silverstone," Dennis said, when asked about the new car's debut. "But it's not critical to our plans. We think we have a very competitive car. But it will be reliability that determines its introduction."

McLaren are currently using an updated version of their MP4-17 car, with which they have won the first two races of the year. The Woking-based outfit are leading the Constructors' Championship, 16 points ahead of Renault and 23 ahead of World Champions Ferrari.

Dennis said that due to the new points system, which rewards a team who finish in the points with both their cars, they prefer to be sure the MP4-18 is reliable before it races for the first time. Dennis, however, is confident the new car will be faster.

"[We will use it] when we feel that it's as reliable as our existing car," Dennis said. "That doesn't mean to say we're not due to run it soon, it doesn't mean to say that it's not going to be quicker - we know it's going to be quicker. But to finish first, you first have to finish.

"And race introduction now, with rules as they are currently, you've got to have reliability, otherwise you are history. The cost of unreliability in practice is severe. So 'we don't know' is the answer. It could be quite late."

With the new points system, a team whose drivers finish in third and fourth positions would score more points than the race winner.