Despite calls from McLaren star David Coulthard to launch the MP4-18 now, the team claim they will not be rushed into launching their 2003 car.
McLaren technical director Adrian Newey will not be forced into running the new car by the performance of other teams: "The problem is that if you bring it in too quickly and it is unreliable, then we shoot ourselves in the foot," said Newey. "So, while there is pressure as far as introducing it is concerned, we still have to establish reliability and pace."
A frustrated Coulthard saw his title challenge take another blow as Michael Schumacher got back to winning ways. Coulthard slipped from second to fifth in the title race while Schumacher's Spanish win catapulted him into second, only four point behind Kimi Raikkonen. The Scot fears that the next four races where he is expected to be without the MP4-18 could put the title out of reach of McLaren as the performance of Ferrari once again begins to look ominous.
Despite initially indicating that the car would test after the Brazilian Grand Prix, McLaren now hope to test the MP4-18 the Wednesday after the May 18th Austrian GP at the Paul Ricard circuit in France. It is thought however, that it won't appear in race trim until the British GP.
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