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Boullier tells Honda to keep up momentum for 2017

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says Honda needs to keep up its recent momentum to help the team be competitive in 2017.

After two years off the pace, McLaren has a chance to close the gap to the front runners as a result of new aerodynamic regulations next season. Wider tyres and fewer development restrictions regarding power units also open up opportunities for the teams, but when asked if the 2017 regulations provide the chance to erase Mercedes’ advantage in one go, Boullier told F1i: “No, but we believe and we hope that it is going to reshuffle the order a little bit, but I don’t think it’s going to be a big, big change.

“In some ways it is going to … not put everybody back to the same level, it’s not a clean sheet of paper, but still it is a new start for everybody.”

And Boullier is unwilling to predict if McLaren can target victories next season, saying the progress of Honda is crucial to its hopes of fighting at the front again.

“You are asking me to read into a crystal ball … Again the change in regulation is big enough that we don’t know what the others will have done and I need Honda as well to keep this momentum and step up because otherwise we will slip behind the other three engine manufacturers.

“As long as we catch up then I’m fine, but we need to catch up and then we are more or less in the ballpark then we will see what we do. But yes I believe McLaren will be a good place.”

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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.