McLaren to have new wind tunnel active by June

In brief

McLaren to have new wind tunnel active by June – Stella

McLaren suffered a frustrating start to the season in Bahrain with no points after a difficult pre-season testing. The team are working on major upgrades to their factory facilities, including a new simulator and wind tunnel, which Stella says is in the process of calibration.

“We are hopeful to have the car in the wind tunnel – which should be at that stage the new car – in June,” Stella said.

“Once the tunnel is going through this calibration process, and we have done this coordination exercise with the same model in the two wind tunnels, I would hope that in the space of a couple of weeks, we are ready to go for development. Like I say, the plan is to have development starting in June.”

Red Bull’s title defence won’t be “walk in the park” – Button

Jenson Button is unconvinced Red Bull and Max Verstappen will enjoy an easy romp to this year’s world championship titles despite their dominant victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

“I know that a lot of drivers have said, ‘well, it’s going to be an easy championship for Red Bull and Max’, but how can you say that?,” Button told media including RaceFans. “We’ve only tested at one track. We’ve only raced at one track.

“We all know that Bahrain is very unique in the way that the cars work there. It’s a heavy braking traction circuit – it’s not so much about high speed. So we can’t say that. I think we’ll understand a bit more after Saudi, which is more of a fast flowing track, and also when we get to the European races.”

“So no, it’s not a walk in the park for Red Bull and Max. It’s a great start to the season and very different to what they had last year, but I still think we’re going to have some very, very close fights and I don’t think it’s going to be a straightforward win for Red Bull and Max.”

Correa claims FIA offered him “zero support” after Hubert crash

Formula 2 racer Juan Manuel Correa says he feels he had “zero support” from the FIA after suffering severe injuries in the crash at Spa-Francorchamps in 2019 that claimed the life of Anthoine Hubert.

Asked on the Track Limits podcast, if he felt the F1 community and the FIA helped him in his recovery from his injuries, Correa said “if I’m honest, not at all.”

“I was alone,” Correa…