Istanbul is the next stop on the Formula 1 whistle stop tour of the world. McLaren are looking for a massive push to try and catch up with their rivals after an unimpressive race weekend in Monaco.

Managing director Jonathan Neale believes that early pace setters Red Bull can be caught and beaten:

“They can be beaten. Red Bull have a have a quick car and they have the upper hand but I am confident that won’t be the case by the middle of the season.”

Last season at the start of the year McLaren had one of the worst cars on the grid, putting their drivers in very unfamiliar positions. By the end of the season their performance had improved so much that they where the highest scoring team in the second half of the season. If the team can improve an already competitive car like they did last year then the McLarens will be challenging for the title right till the end.

Nearly two weeks ago in Monaco Lewis Hamilton recorded a respectable 5^th place which left him joint 6^th in the Drivers’ Championship. Reining Champion Jenson Button could only manage two laps of the glamorous circuit before being forced to retire by a ‘cooked engine’. This meant Button dropped from leading the Championship, falling to 4^th behind both Red Bull drivers and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.

The Turkish track is a circuit which should favour McLaren, as their cars seems to go well around tracks with fast corners and plenty of straights. However if McLaren are going to have a competitive race then they must perform well in qualifying, something they haven’t really managed so far this season.

I can’t see McLaren winning in Turkey especially if it’s a dry race they just don’t have the raw pace in qualifying. Therefore I think the best that either driver can hope for is a podium but even that may be unlikely.

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