"You have to be patient," racing director says after troubled debut
Friday 20 March 2015 09:51, UK
McLaren-Honda might be even further behind Mercedes than the rest of the F1 field right now but Eric Boullier doesn’t think the Silver Arrows’ domination is bad for the sport.
Boullier was speaking after the re-united partnership’s new car made a – to say the least – troubled debut in Melbourne.
Jenson Button was lapped twice by Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg as they finished one-two in the 2015 curtain raiser. In contrast, Button finished 11th and last while team-mate Kevin Magnussen, who was standing in for Fernando Alonso, did not even make the start after his car suffered an engine failure on its way to the grid.
The race amounted to a test session as Button put valuable mileage on his MP4-30, which was running on less-than full power and over three seconds off the pace in qualifying.
Their situation is clearly one where ‘things can only get better’ but McLaren and Honda seem determined to knuckle down and make the project work.
Not only that, they’re also refusing to question Mercedes’ ongoing superiority and, despite their slow start, instead think they can eventually challenge.
“I don’t think it’s bad for the sport,” Boullier, McLaren’s racing director, said. “Obviously everybody wants to have all the cars racing together like we had in 2012 or 2013. But any technical change, more than sporting change, in the regulations opens the door to create gaps and loopholes. So it’s no surprise.
“If you have a good rivalry with Mercedes then you have to be patient,” he added. “The team will catch up.”
Also speaking after Sunday’s race, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said Mercedes’ latest result, their 12th one-two since F1’s switch to a hybrid formula, was bad for the sport.
Daniel Ricciardo finished five places higher than Button, although Horner described his car’s Renault engine as “undriveable” and called on the FIA to equalise rival power units.
Asked about that suggestion, Boullier replied: “It’s going to take longer than maybe they expected.”
McLaren have changed back from Mercedes to Honda power in the belief that teams can only achieve title-winning success with full works backing.
They won three drivers’ and one constructors’ title with the German manufacturer but found themselves relegated to customer status by the time the new engine rules were introduced last season.
Last weekend’s race, which just 15 cars started, focused fresh attention on F1’s switch to hybrid technology, which sends out the right environmental message but is seen as too expensive, too complicated - and too quiet.
Speaking last year, however – and already, perhaps, with an inkling of the task McLaren now face - CEO Ron Dennis insisted it was a necessary move.
"There has to be a time, and I think that time is now, when we take a more socially-responsible position,” he said at the 2014 Bahrain GP. “The simple fact is that we live in a world where resources are depleting and the environment is being threatened.
“Yes, we are Formula 1, yes we are the pinnacle of motorsport, but being the pinnacle of motorsport means we have to have the latest technology.
"Reluctantly, I admit, the teams and engine manufacturers have embraced the challenge of effectively competing in a grand prix with two-thirds less fuel than before and developing hybrid systems of the future.
“These KERS and ERS systems are incredibly complex and the intensity of the development that has gone into them masks the fact that this is the future."
Sky Sports F1 will show every session from the Malaysia Grand Prix weekend live and available on the move with SkyGo. The race starts at 8am on Sunday March 29, with comprehensive build-up underway from 6:30am.
