Boullier: Difficult for McLaren to win a race this season

Nine points in one go and both cars in the top ten is good news for McLaren, which hadn’t scored since Malaysia. But Eric Boullier, the team’s sporting director, refuses to talk about relief: “No, it’s not a relief. It’s good to score points. What interests us today is getting back to big points, podiums, that’s what interests us.”

For the upcoming races, McLaren doesn’t expect major changes but will still bring updates, especially for the new European race this year in Austria, as confirmed by the Frenchman: “We don’t start with a car capable of qualifying 8th or 9th and end up winning Grand Prix in two races. It takes several months, it’s a lot of work. Canada should be about similar to here, we’re not thinking about the podium, except under extraordinary circumstances; we should be around 7th place, and then from Austria, we will continue to bring new improvements at each race until we regularly break into the top eight.”

Boullier, however, does not want to confirm Ron Dennis’s statement that McLaren would win at least one race before the end of the year. When asked if that is possible, he responds: « I don’t know, you have to ask Ron Dennis. But given Mercedes’ current domination, it’s going to be very difficult. »

During the race, Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen were very close for several laps, nothing to worry Boullier who was rather pleased for the show: “I was not afraid, I trust them. It’s racing!” he said before adding about the atmosphere between the two drivers at Mercedes: “We are not at the same level of stress here, at least not yet.”

However, the long-term future of McLaren and its lead driver, Jenson Button, whose contract expires at the end of the year, is not yet a main concern for McLaren as confirmed by the Frenchman: « It is still far too early to talk about; »

From our special correspondent in Monaco