Anyone else surprised by Kimi's/McLaren's speed?

Not sure what anyone else thought but I was really surprised how fast Kimi and the McLaren was this past weekend. I would have bet the house that he was on a light(er) fuel load that Alonso and Webber. The supposedly lightning fast Renault was dropping back like it had a parachute attached to it. I was simply amazed. Kimi did the same thing in San Marino a few weeks ago and might have won then also had he not broken.

All in all it does not bode well for the Scuderia. It seems like there are at least three or four teams that seem to be able to match or surpass the performance of the F2005.

 

That engine lasted a whole race... yes I am surprized!

 

Looking at McLarens previous results:

Australia: Both finished,JPM 6th and KR 8th
Malaysia: Both finished, raikkonen had a tire valve failure. JPM 4th and KR 9th. Fastest Lap for KR
Bahrain: Both finished, KR third PR 5th. PR Fastest lap
San Marino: KR on pole, DNF as a result of broken halfshaft on leading position. AW fourth

I wasn't surprised. Only DNF was not a result of engine failure, and biggest problem previously has been poor qualifying results.

-Niko

 

No surprise at all actually, they've shown flashes of speed, it was only a matter of time till they got it right. We may have a fight on our hands for the title after all.

 

It seems in recent history that McLaren take a gamble with their cars and either get it absolutely right or dreadfully wrong. But, even if they get it wrong they've shown they can turn it around like no other team can.

They’ve obviously gotten it right this time.

 

I wasn't surprised in McLaren's reliability. As you have shown the cars have finished consistently with very minor (non engine related) failures. I was surprised at the SPEED of the car. Either Kimi has turned into Superman or the McLaren is VERY dialed in. It looked like Kimi was in a league by himself.

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head. We've certainly witnessed McLaren at their worst before. This recent display appears to show them at or near their best!

 

Agree. Over winter they were very fast and Kimi has shown many times (even last year) that if the car holds together that the package is very, very fast.

The occasional qualifying bungle and the cars falling apart have been the only things stopping them ... I'd be worried if I was Alonso!

Pete

 

Kimi has the skill and the car. They seem uniquely dominant this season. We do have 4 teams nipping at their heels....Renault, Ferrari, BAR, and Honda.

 

Although I wish Ferrari was doing better, this has still been a very interesting start. And, next year's cars might be pretty exciting if they really are going to be able to run at 20,000+ RPM (according to CBS).

Mark