Ron Dennis's Eric Boullier remarks taken out of context, say McLaren

McLaren have insisted that reported criticisms of Eric Boullier made by chairman Ron Dennis have been taken out of context.

The Woking team are yet to score a point so far in 2015 and a report in the British press ahead of this weekend’s showpiece Monaco event claimed that Dennis had given the team a dressing down over their current underperformance during their their post-Spanish GP debrief.

The McLaren chairman was said to have told them that he had given racing director Eric Boullier “a good kick in the a***”, while also questioning whether the team were working hard enough to cure the Honda-powered MP4-30’s underperformance.

However, responding to the report, McLaren have said that Dennis’s reference to Boullier was purely tongue-in-cheek and he is fully aware of how hard the team are working to emerge from their current slump.

"Ron is a racer, a winner and a leader. His determination to achieve is legendary and infectious. He is hugely respected by all McLaren staff. His rhetoric can sometimes be challenging, but it is always inspirational,” a McLaren spokesman said.

"Specifically, his remark quoted in the newspaper you mention was intended as a humorous one, and was therefore reported out of context.

"Moreover, Ron massively appreciates the hard work currently being done by all at Woking [UK] and Sakura [Japan], and he and Eric, together, are making the structural and operational changes that will take McLaren-Honda back to the front."

McLaren are currently only being kept off the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship by backmarkers Manor, with returning engine suppliers Honda yet to get on top of the reliability problems which were apparent from the early days of pre-season in February.

After finishing a lapped 16th at Barcelona, Jenson Button was unusually outspoken in his comments after the race, describing the MP4-30 as “scary” to drive and suggesting that the team could remain point-less all season.

However, having since put those remarks down to the heat of the moment after a race, Button says McLaren enjoyed a productive two-day test at the the Circuit de Catalunya and this weekend’s Monaco race represents their best chance yet to finish in the top 10.

"Very confident that it won’t be the same as it was in Spain. I had some serious issues in the race," Button told Sky Sports News HQ in Monaco.

"The frustrating thing was all weekend had been very positive and the race wasn’t, so I was a little bit emotional after the race.

"But the test went really well and everything just went smoothly, with the engine and the car and some good steps forward. So [I’m] happy with the direction it’s taking. I don’t know if we’re going to get points here, but there’s definitely more chance of us scoring points here than the last few races."

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