McLaren team chief Ron Dennis believes that his team could have what it takes to break Ferrari and Michael Schumacher's stranglehold on Formula One.
McLaren got off to the perfect start to the season when David Coulthard claimed top spot in the Australia Grand Prix, with team-mate Kimi Raikkonen finishing in a respectable third place and claiming the fastest lap of the race.
However, while Dennis is satisfied with the performance of the current car, McLaren are due to launch their 2003 model shortly after Ferrari unveil their new car sometime next month, and Dennis believes that the real test will come when Ferrari and McLaren pit these new cars against each other.
"Real racing is going to be when the MP4/18A is racing against the new Ferrari. They'll be bringing their new car to a grand prix sooner than ourselves but if we can maintain some sort of points position, then we can anticipate some really good results towards the end of the season," Dennis said.
"We're under no illusions that it's going to be tough but I think we surprised people with our pace in Australia. We did the quickest lap and have made a reasonable step on the 17D car - whether it's enough to give us the points at the beginning of the season I'm unsure, but I'm sure we're going to be strong towards the end of the season," he added.
"The pace is there but there's no question Ferrari still has a very strong package and we're under no illusions that taking points away from them in the early part of the season is going to be hard work, but we'll give it our best shot."
Filed by Rob Wright
