McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says the team needs to develop "everywhere" in order to reach Mercedes' level.
Having been a customer of Mercedes last season, McLaren switched to Honda this year in order to have a works partnership to try and close the gap at the front. Speaking exclusively to F1i, when asked where the team needs to improve to get itself in to a position to challenge for victories and titles again, Boullier replied: “Everywhere, to be honest.
"As far as McLaren is concerned, as you know we are always looking to bring more performance in suspension, in downforce, in vehicle dynamics, everywhere you can improve your car. So until we have the best chassis on the grid we will always chase better. So today we can definitely bring more.
"The philosophy is working, we are happy with what we have, the drivers like the car and how to drive the car, but we still need to bring more downforce. Pure numbers, if you want."
However, Boullier says there is no getting away from the fact the biggest step forward can be delivered from improvements relating to the Honda power unit.
“The most potential in terms of performance is coming from the power unit, not only in terms of power - which is a process which Honda is going through as well, a learning curve - but also in terms of energy recovery efficiency and the way in which we use this energy and deliver it through the electrical MGUs.”
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