Fernando Alonso has urged McLaren-Honda to get on top of its reliability issues, which have hampered the Spaniard in both Spain and Monaco, before turning its attention to performance.
Alonso looked set for his first points of the season in Monaco, but a technical issue brought his race to an abrupt end.
The 33-year-old is therefore pushing the team to focus on ironing out its reliability before it focuses on making the car competitive.
“Jenson’s points in Monaco were a great boost for the whole team and more proof of the progress we are making race by race,” he said. “On my side of the garage, it’s disappointing to have had two technical issues in a row, but as usual we’re working extremely hard to understand these problems.
“Reliability is always the most important factor, so before performance we must focus on making sure we start the weekend positively and maximise the practice sessions to get our car properly set up for this track.”
Racing director Eric Boullier is also conscious of the MP4-30’s fragility, adding that reliability is their main focus at the moment as they head to Canada.
“Our more promising performances have been scuppered by frustrating technical issues though, most recently on Fernando’s side of the garage, so we’re working hard to iron these out so that we can really see the potential of both cars and keep developing.
“We must target improved reliability and consistency in order to achieve our maximum potential.”
