Team boss Martin Whitmarsh has said tyre management will be crucial in shaping the destiny of the World Championship this year.
Team boss says tyre management more important than ever
Ahead of this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix, McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh has said tyre management will be crucial in shaping the destiny of the World Championship this year.
With the season already appearing wide open after three different constructors won the opening three races, it seems an understanding of Pirelli's rubber will be more important than ever in 2012.
Teams have, at times, found it difficult to get a handle on the different compounds - in particular trying to make them perform when track temperatures have not been as expected or have changed rapidly.
Mercedes, for one, struggled with their tyres in both Australia and Malaysia before getting it right in some style in China last weekend, with Nico Rosberg claiming his first F1 victory and also the first for a Silver Arrow since 1955.
McLaren's Jenson Button complained of poor grip in cooler conditions during practice and qualifying in Shanghai but still enjoyed a strong race by finishing runner-up to Rosberg.
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, finished third and now leads his team-mate in a McLaren one-two atop the Drivers' Championship.
Puzzle
The team's MP4-27 has so far performed well in warmer conditions and, as such, is considered a contender at desert-bound Sakhir, where consistently hot track conditions are expected.
But while confident in McLaren's ability to give another good performance this weekend, Whitmarsh said the team best able to solve F1's tyre puzzle will be the one making the largest strides as the season progresses.
He explained: "Understanding them, making them work, getting them into the sweet spot, either by skill or good fortune, or vice versa: falling outside the sweet spot by lack of skill and lack of fortune, I think you can really make it very difficult.
"I think we're competitive and I think the important thing is we've got two great racing drivers and I think we can qualify better than we did (in China) and I think we can race well.
"This is going to be a season where we've had three very different races, we're going to have potentially 20 very different races this year and I think that's fascinating really, in a sense. I enjoy it and I'm sure people watching it really enjoy it.
"Who's going to predict who's going to win in Bahrain? I don't know; I've got no idea whatsoever. I'd like to think it's us but I think we'll have to see when we get there."
Priorities
Mercedes' win in China came at the end of a week that saw a protest against their controversial 'double DRS' system thrown out by the FIA.
While admitting the win has given McLaren pause for thought as to whether they might develop their own version, Whitmarsh also suggested it was just one option for them.
"I suspect they'll be a continuing controversy over DRS," he added. "We've got a range of development priorities, we're going to continue bringing performance to the car. You must make sure that you don't chase the latest fad with a disproportionate amount of resource.
"It's certainly doing a good job for them. But they weren't that slow in the race when they weren't DRS-ing all the time, were they?"
