Newey Says McLaren Need More Speed

McLaren technical director Adrian Newey said on Sunday that his team had luck to thank for their surprise defeat of rivals Ferrari and Williams in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Newey, speaking from the pits after watching David Coulthard's modified 2002 car cross the line to hand McLaren their first victory since last year's Monaco Grand Prix, dampened spirits by claiming Schumacher threw the win away.

The German went over the kerbs late in the race, forcing him to pit after damage to the bargeboard on his F2002 made race officials flag him in. Newey believes that slip-up cost Ferrari the race, and that McLaren will need more speed to beat the World Champions on a regular basis.

"We won today but if Michael had not made his mistake he would have won," said Newey. "It is a great result for today and both drivers kept it on the road but we need more pace."

Newey and his design team are currently working on what is expected to be a radical new McLaren machine, which is now set to be introduced in the fifth or sixth race of the season.

Newey also claimed McLaren outthought Ferrari this time around.

"Ferrari left their last stop too late and that penalised them," Newey said. "We were a little bit lucky with weather, perhaps, but I think we played it to our advantage. It must have been an exciting race for everyone watching."