McLaren-Honda racing director Eric Boullier was disappointed to see Jenson Button retire from the Hungarian Grand Prix with an oil leak, but was full of praise for Fernando Alonso who secured a strong seventh place for the team on Sunday.
Button had started eighth but was compromised early with a brake issue that ultimately gave him a drive-through penalty after his team gave him instructions over the radio on how to fix it, but Boullier gave praise to the 2009 World Champion, feeling he was driving well all weekend long.
Alonso had a very consistent weekend at the Hungaroring, finishing seventh in every session, but the result Boullier feels shows the progress McLaren and Honda have been making this season.
“Jenson was unfortunate to have a promising weekend brought to an untimely end by an oil leak, which led to the most disappointing initials in racing: DNF,” said Boullier.
“He’d driven very well all weekend – in fact he may even have qualified even better than his eventual P8 yesterday if his run hadn’t been compromised through no fault of his own – but I guess that’s racing.
“As for Fernando, I may be wrong, but I think the consistency he’s demonstrated over the past three days may be a record-breaker. It reads as follows: FP1: P7; FP2: P7; FP3: P7; Quali: P7; Race: P7.
“Not quite seventh heaven, but a solid and encouraging performance that underlines the good progress we’re making all the time.”
Boullier does not expect next weekend’s German Grand Prix to suit the team as much as the Hungaroring did, but is still hoping to secure some points at the Hockenheim circuit.
“From here we’ll travel to Baden-Württemberg, for the German Grand Prix, the last race of the first half of the season,” said Boullier.
“The Hockenheim circuit may not suit our car / power unit combo quite as well as did the Hungaroring this weekend, but we’ll be gunning for points yet again; be in no doubt of that.”
