McLaren and their racing director Eric Boullier are clearly in a better position than they have been for some years, now that they have new Renault power units in the back of their MCL33s this year.
Despite some teething and familiarity issues during the two pre-season tests, the new combination did show some solid progress over the two weeks with it all culminating in Fernando Alonso almost knocking Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen off the top of the timing charts late on the final day at Barcelona.
Speaking to Racer Magazine during the tests, Boullier was quick to point out that the Woking squad would have no excuses this season, not to deliver results.
"I think we have a good car. We still have to bring it, we still have to make it work, but I think we have a good car, so we'll see. I'm not saying we're going to be world champions or whatever but we should be good enough to give [rivals] some headaches."
Clearly the team will not be under the same pressure to perform in one season as it has been over the past few years as 2018 will just be the first of an initial three-year partnership agreement with Renault.
With this in mind Boullier feels they can concentrate on getting things right rather than the constant fire fighting that occurred during their tumultuous time with Honda.
"You don't have a big distraction anymore, so you just put your energy and your attention into the details that are going to make us faster.
"The longer we are with Renault and building our relationship it's going to be even better. We know what we are doing in terms of chassis development, but in terms of engine, the better we build our relationship the better it will be for them and for us."
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