After the Russian Grand Prix, McLaren claimed that, if not for their fuel-saving strategy, they would have matched the pace of the Williams cars.
Quite a bold statement, that one, made by racing director Eric Boullier, considering that their rivals finished in P4 and P5, even if the Honda power unit is performing a lot better than last year.
Nevertheless, Boullier was recently quoted as saying that “we have a significant upgrade for the next race in Spain. Monaco should suit us, so we should be more competitive in Monaco, but Barcelona I don’t know.”
As reported by Autosport, both McLaren drivers seem confident, especially in Monaco where the team managed a points finish even during last year’s disappointing season.
“We’ve got a lot more points now at this time of the year compared to last year so it’s really good for the team,” said Jenson Button. “The next race is still a little bit difficult for us on outright pace, but then in Monaco [we can hope for] another good points haul.”
His teammate however seemed a bit more optimistic about their chances in Spain. “The potential is there and there are some circuits coming up now that will suit our car even better, like Barcelona and Monaco,” said Fernando Alonso, sounding a bit more confident in his car’s straight line speed.
Since in last year’s Spanish GP neither McLaren driver finished in the top 10 (Alonso DNF & Button P16), it’s reasonable to believe that we’ll be witnessing a much better performance from the Honda-powered cars this time around, especially with that upgrade.
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