Eric Boullier feels the ‘Spec Three’ upgrade Honda brought to the Red Bull Ring this weekend has brought some extra competitiveness to the McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team.
Fernando Alonso finished inside the top ten in both free practice sessions on Friday, while Stoffel Vandoorne finished the first up in seventh before concluding the day in twelfth in free practice two, and Boullier, the Racing Director at McLaren, feels there is still time to be found as both drivers look into dialling in their set-ups.
Boullier feels the team can be happy with their first day on track in Austria, and he hopes they can carry that momentum into Saturday and attack for top ten starting positions.
“It’s been a pretty productive first day here in Austria,” admitted Boullier. “Honda has introduced its Spec Three power unit upgrade for both cars, and it seems like a fairly useful step in performance.
“Taking the lap-times at face value today, we looked reasonably competitive, despite neither Fernando nor Stoffel really feeling that their MCL32s were dialled in properly.
“There’s still a fair amount of work for us to do this evening if we’re to maximise the set-up ahead of qualifying tomorrow, but I feel encouraged that we’re on the front foot and carrying good momentum after the first day of running.”
