2004 McLaren Mercedes MP4-19 cocpit too small

[S0300182]

Is McLaren MP4-19's cockpit too small?

The new McLaren MP4-19 has a very small cockpit. Adrian Newey's latest creation offers only a minimum of space for the driver and that might not be enough for Alex Wurz.

The tall Austrian had no problem to fit in the MP4-18 but cannot find enough space in the MP4-19. As a matter of fact, Wurz never drove the new car...

As for David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen, they will have to get used to a car that is very different from the MP4-17D. "The driver is more reclined in the MP4-19 than in the MP4-17D," mentioned David Coulthard. "However, it's a little tighter in the car since the engineers are trying to maximise the legality rules."

Pedro de la Rosa is the only McLaren driver to fit without any problem in the cockpit of the new car. His height of 174 cm is helping, compared with Alex Wurz (182 cm), David Coulthard (182 cm) and Kimi Raikkonen (180 cm), who are considerably taller.