McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team Racing Director, Eric Boullier, is not only satisfied by the stellar qualifying performances put in by both drivers in today’s Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying, but also by the pace that they have demonstrated throughout the weekend so far.
The team knew that the Hungaroring would be a strong track for the car, due to their strong chassis. The power deficit of the Honda engine is not as important at the track known as ‘Monaco without the walls’, which was another circuit where they have performed well at this season.
“We always knew that this was likely to be a strong track for us, so to line up seventh and eighth – effectively the ‘best of the rest’ underlines the inherent pace of our package,” said Boullier.
Boullier believes that this could be the first double point scoring opportunity of the year in order to lift McLaren off the bottom of the Constructor’s Championship, with Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne set to line up on the fourth row of the grid.
“But I think what’s more satisfying is that we’ve shown such consistent pace throughout the whole weekend. That gives us the confidence to believe that we can convert these starting positions into equally strong points-scoring places tomorrow.”
“Both drivers have been extremely closely matched in every session, and there’s a feeling that we’re really pulling together as a cohesive team now. It’s safe to say that we’re all looking forward to an intense, fun and productive grand prix tomorrow.”
