He said it before earlier in the year, but McLaren's Eric Boullier reiterated his claim that the Woking outfit's chassis is now as good as Ferrari's.
Relative weakness at McLaren-Honda has still centered around its power unit. But while the Japanese manufacturer has made steady progress on both the power and reliability fronts, its engine still remains at a fair distance from Mercedes and Ferrari's power unit's.
Boullier contends that if the team had access to more power, it would be fighting on an equal par with its Italian rival.
"We believe our chassis is in the top three – let's say fighting with Ferrari for the third spot," the Frenchman told Motorsport.com.
"Our chassis is aerodynamically efficient. But if you have more power, you can also bring more downforce.
"But more downforce means more drag, which we cannot afford now because we do not have enough horsepower.
“When Honda brings an upgrade, we too can bring a bigger aerodynamic upgrade. That then brings more downforce and drag, and it works.
"But today we have to be very efficient aerodynamically to not penalise ourselves with too slow a top speed."
Next season should put McLaren-Honda in contention for a Grand Prix win, but Boullier remains guarded, well aware indeed of the team's dependency on the work and performance of its engine partner.
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