McLaren MP4-26

Berlin, Feb 05: McLaren’s new car was out on Friday as it was launched but the car was unveiled into bit by bit and made sure that the curious rivals don’t come to know the secrets of the brand new car. McLaren team, which is one of the big teams came out with 2011 car and rolled out the show in front of crowded fans in the Potsdamer Platz near the old Berlin Wall. The engines and exhausts that were shown were only the fake parts and the bosses of the other big teams were smart enough and admitted that the new car which would run in the season opener in Bahrain on March 13 would be having altogether different look.

Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton who were the 2008 and 2009 champions, had no wraps to take off the car and yet the new MP4 26 remained under the clouds of secrecy, even if the side pods with the air intakes sculpted in the shape of an L and a J were distinctive. The McLaren’s new car was being awaited by the curious big team rivals as they were eager to know whether the 2010 runners up car can have an extra-ordinary kind of parts and can overtake the Renaults innovative engine having forward facing exhausts.

“Be-warned you haven’t seen it all. It was just a trailer and not the picture,” team principal Martin Whitmarsh told reporters with a smile. “Quite naturally we haven’t shown the full hand to our competitors or you,” he added. On the other side Force India’s Adrian Sutil clocked the second fastest time while Narain Karthikeyan in the Hispania Racing car dropped nearly two seconds off his Wednesday’s pace as the first Formula One pre-season testing concluded on Thursday.

Tags: Berlin Wall, Car, F1, Formula One, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, MP4-26, Potsdamer Platz