McLaren-Renault Unveil the MCL33

Earlier this morning, the McLaren F1 team revealed the car that will hopefully herald the start of a Renaissance. The newly christened MCL33 must return the team to some degree of competitiveness for their sake. This year, the MCL33 has switched from a Honda power unit to a Renault power unit. The livery is predominantly orange which is a callback to McLaren’s historic 1960s livery.

According to the team, the car is a design evolution of 2017’s MCL32. They regarded last year’s car as one of the best chassis on the grid. McLaren Executive director Zak Brown has maintained that their targets are “racing and qualifying at the front and getting on the podium”.

Star driver Fernando Alonso said, “Looking at our new car, I feel incredibly excited – but also apprehensive. I know just how important this car is to the team and I just hope it delivers in the way we all want it to. If we’re able to develop the key strengths of last year’s chassis and marry it to an improved Renault power unit, then I think we’ll be able to take a step forwards. The car certainly looks very neat and well thought out, and I think the new colour looks really great – really eye-catching.”

Alonso will once again be partnered by Belgian driver Stoffel Vandoorne in an unchanged lineup. Racing director Eric Boullier said: “We never took the easy route or looked to shortcut a process or a solution – and the result is a car that is neat and well-resolved. That said, we are under no illusions that it will be difficult to splinter the hegemony at the front and that the midfield will be full of well-funded, experienced outfits with plenty to prove. We are humble about the challenge ahead, but feel we’ve prepared well, have a solid package that we can build upon and exploit as the season progresses, and have two excellent drivers who will make the difference in races.”