I'm a realistic guy. I say don't wait until Melbourne for their real pace (although they could very well show up), but wait until after the third race for their true pace. The real race starts once they get back to Europe, where all the teams usually have major developments. We have (or I have anyway) heard all the teams for a number of years now say 'let's wait until we get back from the flyaway races to see where we really are.' In addition, McLaren is one of the great F1 teams. If they're not with it now, they'll figure it out eventually.
Now that's my objective side
The fan in me, the subjective side, hopes that McLaren fails miserably. All the questions about pace, all the debate, all the comments about them 'doing this or doing that during testing,' all the
excuses that I've read in this thread---it's McLaren fans' DENIAL!!!
And I love it to be honest.
And, sadly, as a few people have already done, please don't assume that just because someone doesn't like McLaren means that they are automatically a Ferrari fan! [-X
Before crucifying me for not liking McLaren, go back and read my first paragraph!
I'm by no means counting them out because they are one of the great teams in F1. If they are dominant then that's fine, I'll just be an unhappy fan, as many of you were last season or the season before. In other words: c'mon people, we all have teams we root for and against, so you can't get too upset with me about that
Best regards. I guess this explains why I'm not at my post!