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It's heartbreaking to see a team which has won 8 World's Constructors Championships, 12 Drivers Championships, and 182 race wins in total to not have won a single race since Brazilian GP, 2012. Let alone race wins, the team has not been on the podium since 2014 Australian GP. This is one hell of a stumbling block for a team of such a stature.
Sure, Ferrari has also not won the championship since 2007 but they have always been up there on the top, always been competitive and regularly been on podiums. The lack of podiums from McLaren is simply astounding.
Moreover, the team is now out of excuses. For the past three years, they kept saying that they are being let down by the engine and the only reason why they are not on the top is because of their engine partner which was Honda. Now, since they have shifted to Renault this season they had no place to hide. The testing was not as per expectation, the team once again had the lowest lap completed for the second year in a row.
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There was some hope because of a third fastest lap in the testing but that was soon put out of the window when both cars were eliminated in Q2. The team are yet to proceed to Q3 and it is only because of the stand out drives by double world champion driver Fernando Alonso that has put the team to 4th in the constructors' table.
Eric Boullier, the Racing director said that the testing problems were the reason that they had not been able to come up with a car fully prepared in the last few races. Spanish GP is what we have been hearing from the start of the season where we would see the real McLaren. Next weekend is that Grand Prix and expectations are high again with McLaren to finally deliver but as we have seen in the past you can't say anything for sure in F1.
With all the reshuffling in the management, change of engine partner, and Fernando Alonso behind the wheels, it is time for the team to deliver promising results and Spanish GP will be an indication of that. If Red Bull with Renault engine can consistently fight for the podiums and wins, McLaren must too. It is not only important for the team but also for the fans and F1 as a whole that this team come back to the top as early as possible.
