أرشيف وسم ‘ Eric Boullier ’

Posted on Tuesday, May 24, 2016

McLaren aims for double points finish

McLaren Racing Director Eric Boullier reckons the squad must target finishing in the points with both cars at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, with the circuit layout likely to play to the strengths of the MP4-31. Following a trouble reunion campaign with Honda in 2015, McLaren has made a step forwards this year and has scored points in three of the last four races. With the layout of the Monte Carlo street circuit limiting the influence of the power unit, Boullier is optimistic that McLaren […]

Posted on Monday, May 2, 2016

Boullier sure McLaren has 'turned the corner'

McLaren Racing Director Eric Boullier is sure that his squad has "turned the corner" after securing a double points finish at the Russian Grand Prix. McLaren endured a dismal 2015 campaign but made progress across the course of the winter, with Stoffel Vandoorne collecting the team's first point in Bahrain. Further issues for Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button restricted the pair from scoring points until Russia, where Alonso collected sixth place and Button rounded out the top 10. "A double points finish is a great […]

Posted on Saturday, March 5, 2016

McLaren yet to run full 2016 specification

McLaren Racing Director Eric Boullier believes that the outfit can still make progress, as it did not run its full 2016 specification during pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Having been beset by reliability issues during the build-up to an ultimately dismal 2015 campaign, McLaren and Honda enjoyed a smoother preparation period this year, though did not trouble the leading times across eight days of running. However, the outfit was regularly in the mix and achieved encouraging mileage, leading Boullier to believe that more […]

Posted on Monday, October 5, 2015

McLaren motivated by Button renewal

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says that the outfit is motivated by the news that Jenson Button will remain with the team into the 2016 campaign. Button's future had been in doubt but last week it was confirmed that he will stay with McLaren, extending his stay with the Honda-powered team into a seventh season. "We confirmed that Jenson will be continuing to race with us next year," Boullier said ahead of the Russian Grand Prix. "The announcements is incredibly motivating for the whole team, […]

Posted on Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Boullier rues spate of opening lap collisions

McLaren racing director says first lap collisions involving the squad have masked the progress made by the team across recent months. Fernando Alonso was running an upgrade package on his MP4-30 in Austria but he was eliminated exiting Turn 2 after he was collected by Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen. Alonso was also involved in a first lap collision in Britain, when he caused terminal damage to team-mate Jenson Button's car as he attempted to avoid earlier contact involving Daniel Ricciardo and both Lotus drivers. Boullier believes […]

Posted on Thursday, July 16, 2015

Boullier confident in McLaren potential

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says that the squad has 'seconds' of potential to unlock in its package if it can remedy the reliability issues and run on full Honda power. McLaren has endured a troublesome first half of 2015 and has scored only five points to sit ninth in the Constructors' championship, only ahead of Manor Marussia. Boullier is nonetheless confident that the outfit will make large gains when reliability problems can be solved. "We all know the level of commitment from McLaren - […]

Posted on Thursday, April 30, 2015

Prodromou: McLaren had lost its way

McLaren chief engineer Peter Prodromou says that the squad had 'lost its way' when he re-joined the outfit last year. Prodromou worked for McLaren prior to a long stint at Red Bull and says that when he returned to the Woking-based team, its direction had to be changed. "Over the last couple of seasons, the team slightly lost its way aerodynamically," he said. "It became obvious that if we’d carried on with the previous concept, there’d only be so much we could achieve. "So we’ve […]

Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Boullier: McLaren still assessing driver situation

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says that the squad is still evaluating its driver options for the 2015 season and beyond. McLaren's line-up for 2015 remains uncertain, with current drivers Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen in contention for the seats, while Fernando Alonso continues to be linked to the team. Boullier says that McLaren hasn't ruled out signing 'two big names' for the upcoming campaign. "I always said that we are working on the strategy for the coming years - plural - which means we […]

Posted on Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Magnussen hoping to prove McLaren progress

Kevin Magnussen says he hopes to prove that McLaren is making progress by collecting a good result at this weekend's Italian Grand Prix. Magnussen has shown strongly in recent races but several issues have cost him a handful of points. A first corner collision with Felipe Massa in Germany left him down in ninth, while his strong pace during practice and qualifying in Hungary was nullified when he crashed in Q3. Magnussen finished in sixth place in Belgium but was demoted to 12th after stewards […]

Posted on Wednesday, August 27, 2014

McLaren aiming for long-term driver line up

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says that the Woking-based team is planning a long-term driver line-up, and admits that he understands why Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen may feel uncomfortable about the current uncertainty. McLaren is currently in fifth place in the Constructors' championship but next season will see the return of Honda as an engine supplier, a move which is likely to influence the team's driver pairing. Button has been with the team since 2010 while rookie Magnussen claimed a podium on his debut […]

Posted on Thursday, June 26, 2014

Boullier: Pecking order will vary

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier believes that the competitive order in 2014 will continue to vary depending on circuit layout. While Mercedes has remained the quickest package at every round so far this season, several teams have taken turns to achieve strong results. McLaren finished in second and third in Australia, while Ferrari, Force India and Williams have all taken podiums behind Formula 1's dominant outfit, with Red Bull winning in Canada. "Actually it is interesting because it just shows this year that you have […]

Posted on Thursday, May 29, 2014

Boullier: Magnussen suffering from 'rookie syndrome'

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier believes that Kevin Magnussen is suffering from 'rookie syndrome' in his maiden Formula 1 season. Boullier reckons that McLaren's young protege is facing the typical challenge of moving from winning regularly in junior formula to competing for the top 10 in the sport's top echelon. Magnussen finished on the podium on his Formula 1 debut in Australia but has scored just a handful of points across the most recent five events. "Kevin is facing the rookie syndrome in that they […]