The first part of the season is over and the problems with McLaren Honda cars are still there.
The last grand prix in Silverstone provided a small relief for the Fernando Alonso team, but the conditions that were present in England will be difficult to see in many other places.
Today, the British team has been able to return to Silverstone to carry out one of the two 'filming days' allowed per season. Despite the restrictions, a maximum of 100 kilometers and a single tire compound specially created for the event, the MP4-30s have been able to use the day to seek new conclusions. The team, which had Danish driver Kevin Magnussen, also did not complete any fast laps due to the promotional nature of the event.
It is necessary to find solutions, they have to start achieving better results and in response to this, Honda's responsible Yasuhisa Arai assures that they are working hard: "It is clear that we expected to have more points, but we have to make more effort in both cars because there is still a big gap with the top teams. So we have to make a great effort, use the 'tokens' and analyze the data to take a step forward in the second part of the season."
In Honda they seem to start seeing the light. The goals are clear, before it was about finishing, now it is about getting a more competitive engine: "We have several ideas to apply to our power unit to achieve more power and reliability this season using the 'tokens'. When will we spend them? It's the big secret." But that's not all: "McLaren has a new aerodynamic package with a shorter nose, and we will improve the power unit in the second part of the season to be more competitive and catch up to the front." Now it's time to trust and wait for these solutions to give their result.
On the other hand, McLaren Honda's sporting director, Eric Boullier, doesn't seem to be very keen on the idea of Honda supplying engines to other teams: "In theory, I should say yes, because you share the pain. Honda would have twice the mileage every weekend, but the reality is that you also need a second team within Honda. Manufacturing the engine twice, managing double the space and double the number of people to travel."
Boullier reminds everyone what the priority is, to bring Honda's engine to the same level as Mercedes as soon as possible. When this is done, then the option of a second team will be considered. "It would be a great distraction for them today and it's a risk that maybe we don't want to take for now," said the McLaren boss.