McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team Racing Director, Eric Boullier, says he is extremely proud of the progress the team have made this year, and of he never give up attitude conveyed by each and every member of staff, despite the frustrating difficulties experienced in 2017.
The Frenchman says the Woking based squad will be working as hard as ever this weekend, to finish the season on a high, and gather as much data as possible to take into next year’s campaign.
“As we look ahead to the sun setting on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the 2017 season, I’m proud of the battles we’ve fought and the achievements we’ve made as a team this year, despite the lack of results and their respective influence on the championship table.
“Every member of our team has worked tirelessly to improve our package, race by race, and this weekend will be no exception, as we strive to make the most of every session before the close of the season for the winter shutdown.
“We use every single opportunity on track to evaluate and improve our package and learn valuable lessons for next year, and this weekend will be just as important as ever.”
As the regulation changes are relatively minor going into 2018, Boullier says data gathering is still important, even during the final race of the season, as it can all be used in the design process of next year’s package.
“With the relative stability in the regulations between 2017 and ’18, it means a lot of the data we’ve gathered, especially over the last few races, will still stand us in good stead over the winter and help inform the all-important decisions we make on next year’s package.”
Although the 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be the last race for the McLaren Honda partnership, Boullier says they will be as committed as ever to bringing home as strong a result as possible, to end their time together on the best possible note.
“I know I can speak for the whole team when I say that each and every one of us embarks on our final grand prix weekend as McLaren Honda in Abu Dhabi with both optimism and respect.
“Every single person has worked incredibly hard over the past three years and remained committed through the highs and lows we’ve experienced together until the very last race.
“All of us will go into the weekend with exactly the same aim – to work hard and do everything we can to finish the season positively.”
