McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has said that the team's main aim in 2017 above all else has to be "to win" Grand Prix races - but he admits that it remains a tall order for the once-dominant racing organisation.
"In reality, I want to be pragmatic and not set expectations too high," Boullier told Autosport magazine this week. "We want to win as early as possible, but I'm dealing with the reality."
The team's chief operations officer Jonathan Neale had previously said that the team would be disappointed with fourth place or lower in this year's championship, but Boullier was realistic about McLaren's chances of overhauling Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari at the top of the table.
"We were ninth [two years ago], sixth last year so hopefully we're in the top four next year," he said.
"I'm very happy with the Honda approach and I'm happy with the group of engineers we have in McLaren," he added. "It's working absolutely perfectly now.
"They are working hard, but the days when you can turn up with a new aero kit on the car and gain one second are finished.
"Now it's incremental gains all the time. And it's also just time."
GALLERY: F1 drivers' wives and girlfriends
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
