The first night race of the season, and the first race under floodlights at the Bahrain Grand Prix, displayed a worrying lack of both pace and reliability for the Woking-based McLaren team. It can be categorized as nothing other than a failure for McLaren in Bahrain.
The boys struggled in keeping-up with the raw speed of the other Mercedes-powered teams in Saturday’s qualifying, and any hope of an improved performance under race conditions were thwarted early-on when both drivers were left in the dust by the rampant progress of Force India and Williams.
Sadly, neither driver managed to reach the chequered flag, as their MP4-29s succumbed to clutch problems which forced the two drivers to park up their cars and make the long and dusty walk back to the paddock in the desert dunes.
Jenson Button
Grid position: 7
Race result: Retired on lap 56
Well over a year has passed since Jenson‘s last Formula Grand Prix win in Brazil of 2012, and the worrying step back in performance of the MP4-29 from the fantastic start to the season must have him reeling in quiet frustration.
The Brit had a relatively conservative getaway, but managed to snatch a position from a flagging Kimi Raikkonen before being consumed in smoke from the lock-up of Sergio Perez ahead of him, and just about managing to get around the first corner without having his wing clipped off by the Force India.
That was just about all Jenson could do from then on, despite gaining a few positions, it was clear that the speed was just not with him, and he was soon fighting against the tide trying to keep back the Williams, Red Bulls and Force Indias.
His car finally gave-in soon after the restart, while his competitors sailed past to continue the fight. A disappointing Grand Prix, but it’s an event Jenson may very well have to get used to.
Kevin Magnussen
Grid position: 9
Race result: Retired on lap 42
The tremendous podium result in Australia must feel like a long time ago for Kevin Magnussen, who had similar distressing problems under the floodlights of Bahrain as the Brit.
His race start was very slow indeed, and immediately Fernando Alonso flew past him down the straight. He later got squeezed out in the quick chicane by the other Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, forcing Magnussen to take avoiding action on the high curbs and scraping the underside of his car, damaging the car’s diffuser and clipping the downforce potential of the MP4-29.
Although he was pushing to the limit, there was not a light on the horizon for the young upstart, as the car rolled to a stuttering stop on lap 47; the Safety Car emerged to take control of proceedings in the previous lap.
Team Analysis:
A worrying show from the Woking team, but it is not completely obvious where the team is lacking the most. Both reliability and pace were well-down on their expectations, and it must have hurt the morale being the slowest of the Mercedes-powered teams, the others of which were busy fighting at the front.
Perhaps more will become clear in the next few Grands Prix just where they sit in the pecking order, but it goes without saying Ron Dennis and Eric Boullier have a lot of work to do if they wish to challenge the likes of Mercedes.
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