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McLaren 'starting to turn the page'

Martin Whitmarsh had praise for his drivers as well as the engineering team © Sutton Images

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• Drivers:
• Sergio Perez
• |
• Martin Whitmarsh

• Teams:
• McLaren

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh believes the team is "starting to turn the page" after its poor start to the 2013 season.

Having started the year in Australia with a car that was well off the pace, McLaren showed signs of improvement in Malaysia where Jenson Button had an outside chance of a podium before his retirement. Whitmarsh said he was pleased with the attitude shown by both drivers despite the tough opening rounds, and that the indicators from the three-week break were that the team was starting to find ways of exploiting the pace within the MP4-28.

"The team's ability to respond has been exemplary," Whitmarsh said. "The behaviour of both Jenson and Checo [Perez] has been superb. They have shown themselves to be true, inspirational leaders, and they have held themselves high, as real ambassadors for our team. The engineers, designers and mechanics, too, have worked tirelessly and painstakingly to unlock the car's potential, and we feel confident that we are starting to turn the page."

Perez himself described the team's response to the difficult start as "incredible".

"I think there's been a little time to breathe after the first two races of the season," Perez said. "That's been important for us, as we've been able to get back to MTC and really throw all our efforts behind the modifications we need to make the car perform more consistently. For me, it's been incredible to not only see the speed of the team's reaction, but also the positive way that everyone has pulled together to make those changes. It's been an incredible team effort."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.