Boullier calls for response after Spain disappointment

Eric Boullier has called on McLaren to deliver a response to its poor weekend in Barcelona with a strong result at the Monaco Grand Prix.

McLaren managed to qualify both cars in Q2 at the Spanish Grand Prix but Fernando Alonso retired with a brake issue while Jenson Button struggled with the handling of his car throughout the race and finished a lap down in 16th place. After such a tough weekend, Boullier says the team needs to bounce back in Monaco.

“After the disappointment of Barcelona, the whole team is looking forward to Monaco, to put the last race behind us and keep working on improving our package," Boullier said. "Barcelona is a gruelling track for a Formula 1 car, so our relative performance was encouraging until we discovered the problem with Fernando’s brake overheating.

"We were certainly unlucky, but we’re still able to take with us some positives and focus our attention on our next challenge – Monaco. It’s a tough, demanding street circuit that requires teams to take a totally different approach, but that’s what makes it even more special."

And Boullier says Honda has been working on improving driveability in order to excel around the Monte Carlo circuit.

“The nature of Monaco’s narrow streets means there’s less focus on outright power and more on driveability and balance. On this circuit there are even more factors at play than elsewhere – traffic, Safety Cars, unusual strategies – so our first target is to maximise our performance on Saturday.

"Qualifying positions can often dictate the outcome of a race there as overtaking is so difficult, so it’s important we focus our efforts there first and foremost."