F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Boullier excited by McLaren's 'unrelenting development'

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier is excited by the potential of better results in the coming races as a result of the team's "unrelenting development programme".

The opening races saw McLaren struggle, but it was more competitive in Russia and scored points with both cars as Fernando Alonso finished sixth and Jenson Button tenth. While Boullier acknowledges there was some luck involved in the result, he says it comes as a welcome boost ahead of a run of circuits which should suit the upgraded MP4-31 better.

“Our double points finish in Sochi was certainly a motivating factor for the whole team back in Woking, Sakura and Milton Keynes, but it’s only just the start of an upward curve that we hope to continue riding for the rest of the season," Boullier said.

“In Russia, there’s no doubt we gained from others’ misfortune in some ways, but both our drivers report positively about the balance of the car, which reassures us that we’ve created a solid foundation, and that we can have faith in the direction in which we’re going.

“We’re always impatient for more, but I’m pleased that the hard work consistently being undertaken behind the scenes was finally rewarded with some valuable points, and we head into the European season hopeful of scoring some more positive results at circuits on which our car should theoretically be slightly stronger. That, coupled with an unrelenting development programme, is exciting and gives us optimism for the next few races ahead."

While optimistic, Boullier concedes the prospect of other teams bringing new parts to the Spanish Grand Prix could see the pecking order change.

“It certainly won’t be easy – while we’ll be evaluating upgrades to the car in Barcelona, so will many other teams – but the loyal Spanish fans will be behind Fernando and the team, and we hope to put on a good show for them and carry some positive momentum into the European season.”

Technical focus: Halo or Aeroscreen?

Exclusive Jenson Button Q&A

F1i Classic: Schumacher's "5th gear only" signature drive at the 1994 Spanish GP

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.