In an effort to match the performance of current F1 points leader Fernando Alonso and his team's Renault, the McLaren Mercedes team is testing a new engine in Silverstone this week.

According to Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren CEO: "The engine has got to be proved on the track and the dyno, but it is all about pushing." Whitmarsh went on to say that: "On the chassis side as well we have got a few bits of pieces of aero, which we are running at Silverstone, and hopefully those will bring a few tenths (of a second) between them. We are a few tenths behind Renault at the moment, but you also know that when your driver gets close behind a competitor they find a little bit in themselves typically."

The news comes after some controversy as to whether or not the McLaren Mercedes could have achieved better results at Imola last weekend. Whitmark had this to say on the topic: "You want to have the quickest car, but when you throw it away (as at Imola) it is deeply frustrating. We took too long to get our season going last year and we are doing a little bit of that this year, but we will see. Hopefully in the next few races we can bang in a race win and get on form and do the job. We are close but I think I accept that we have got to find a few tenths in our car relative to Renault - taking a few tenths if they are taking a few tenths does not get us there. I think it was their race. Fernando Alonso could have and should have won the race, they made a fairly fundamental mistake in strategy."

To read more about the preparations being made for next week's race in Nürburgring as well as additional excerpts from Martin Whitmarsh's interview, head over to Superwheels for the full story.