Few doubted that McLaren and Honda would struggle. But after only four points from seven races, it's now time for the partnership to improve.

Fernando Alonso is optimistic that McLaren can challenge for points at the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend. Alonso progressed through to Q2 in Spain but retired from the race when a visor tear-off damaged his brakes, while team-mate Jenson Button had a difficult run to 16th position. McLaren has yet to score a point since it reunited with Honda at the start of 2015, but Alonso is hopeful that the Woking-based squad can compete for the top 10 around the streets of Monte Carlo. "Monaco […]

Jenson Button says that McLaren would rather make substantial progress at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, rather than simply aiming to end its points drought. The squad has yet to score in 2015 but Fernando Alonso finished narrowly outside of the points in 11th position in Bahrain, demonstrating the outfit's progress since the opening round in Australia. Button believes that continuing this curve, rather than targeting a points finish, is preferable for the team. "It depends what other people do," Button said when asked about […]

Honda is not yet abandoning the idea of powering McLaren to the podium in 2015. Amid all the hype about the reunion of the ultra-successful names in Formula One, McLaren-Honda has struggled so far this season. But the MP4-30 has made significant progress since the Melbourne season opener, and star driver Fernando Alonso has suggested Q3 and a points finish might be a realistic target for his home race in Barcelona this weekend. "Day by day," agreed Honda's F1 chief Yasuhisa Arai, "we can see […]

Jenson Button says he was encouraged to reach the finish of the Australian Grand Prix, despite coming home two laps down in 11th position. Button spent much of the race at the back of the pack though briefly battled with Sergio Perez, before falling back to last position. "We’re still a long way off, but this is a good starting point – and I enjoyed the race," he said. "I even had a good little battle with Checo [Perez]. Today also really helps in terms […]

The FIA has confirmed that returning manufacturer Honda will be permitted nine development tokens across the course of 2015. Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault will be allowed in-season development in 2015 after discovering a loophole in the regulation which states that they can use their 32 tokens across the duration of the season. Honda was initially informed that it would have to homologate its engine before February 28 - akin to its rivals in 2014 - but the FIA later backtracked and confirmed that McLaren's supplier […]

Kevin Magnussen accepted the blame for a crash which ended his running early during second practice in Australia. After problems in the first session, Magnussen's crash at Turn 6 meant that the Dane completed only 11 laps on Friday as he prepares for this weekend's race. "We didn’t get too many laps in first practice," he said. "Then I went off and damaged the car in the afternoon, so I didn’t get much running under my belt in second practice either. "I tried to push […]

McLaren's Fernando Alonso says he is 'giving everything' in his bid to make a Formula 1 return at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Alonso will miss this weekend's opening round in Australia on advice from doctors, after suffering a concussion during a testing accident at Barcelona on February 22. Alonso will be replaced at the team by test and reserve driver Kevin Magnussen, who finished on the podium in Australia last season. "Of course, I’m very disappointed not to be joining Jenson in Melbourne in the […]

Jenson Button says that McLaren-Honda is braced for a steep learning curve at this weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Button's squad endured a troublesome pre-season campaign at Jerez and Barcelona, with the Honda-powered MP4-30 beset by issues which limited track time. "After the ups and downs of 2014, I feel that the challenge of 2015 is a completely new chapter in my career and I’m totally up for it," said Button, a three-time victor in Australia. "The team’s commitment to development and improvement, both in […]

Fernando Alonso expressed his happiness after enjoying McLaren's most productive day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday. Alonso completed 59 laps in the McLaren MP4-30 at the Spanish venue and ended the day in seventh position. "Definitely we had a better day today, we could complete some runs and we run at 9am and finish at 5.45pm which is good news finally," he said. "We could test some of the potential of the car, complete laps, check many systems we could […]

McLaren and Sauber have become the first two teams to announce their driver line-ups for next week's second pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain. Jenson Button will drive McLaren's Honda-powered MP4-30 next Thursday and Friday, before team-mate Fernando Alonso assumes driving duties for the final two days of running at his home circuit. Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr will commence the four day test for Sauber and will also drive the car on the final day of running, book-ending Marcus Ericsson's stint in […]

Jenson Button says he is sure that McLaren will get on top of its problems after the squad suffered a second troublesome day at Jerez. Button was able to complete only six laps, to add to the six laps that Fernando Alonso completed in the Honda-powered MP4-30 on Sunday. "We expected this test to be tricky - and the next two days probably won’t be plain sailing, either," said the Briton. "But people have short memories . Look at last winter - the first test […]