McLaren feels that it has taken a step forward after fitting an upgrade package, which included a new floor, to Fernando Alonso’s car during practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Alonso, having been third fastest in rain-affected conditions in the opening session, placed fifth in the dry second session, behind only the Ferrari and Red Bull quartet.
Stoffel Vandoorne, meanwhile, did not run with the upgrades, and placed only 13th, 1.1 seconds behind his team-mate, leaving McLaren encouraged by the new parts added to Alonso’s MCL32.
“We trialled some new components on Fernando’s car today, and they look to be a useful new addition,” said Racing Director Eric Boullier.
“They perhaps also explain a large part of the disparity between drivers, as Fernando’s package was slightly better suited to the characteristics of the particular circuit.”
Alonso added: “In the second session, on a dry track, the car continued to behave well, and we had no big things we need to change for tomorrow.
“We tried several different configurations, and they proved all positive, so we need to go through the data tonight to decide what to do.
“The car feels good on this circuit, with a lot of grip when using the Supersoft tyre.”
Vandoorne, who has never raced at Sepang, is hopeful that McLaren can build on its Friday performance, after a combined 50 minutes of track time was lost due to wet weather in FP1 and Romain Grosjean’s FP2 crash.
“Fernando and I tested some different-spec floors today,” said Vandoorne.
“There was only one set available, and Fernando was running that today. It looks like a useful step forward.
“I’m looking forward to some more stable conditions tomorrow so we can carry our momentum forward.”
