McLaren ended their points drought during the 2015 season in Monaco thanks to Jenson Button’s eighth place finish, but the team aren’t patting themselves on the back just yet.
Button started the race tenth, but eventually finished eighth to score four points – the first since McLaren’s reunion with engine supplier Honda.
“It’s a very good day,” he proclaimed. “We’re not going to pat ourselves on the back too much after P8, but we got the maximum out of the car.
“The pace didn’t seem too bad compared to the cars in front, so I’m reasonably happy – it’s good to be so far up, and through outright pace too.”
The tight Monaco circuit was always going to suit their car, which is down on outright power and therefore isn’t capable of matching its rivals in top speed. Therefore long straights aren’t entirely welcome, leading Button to express some doubts that they could score again in Canada in two weeks’ time.
“This is one of the better circuits for us; I don’t how we’ll be in Canada – low speed corners but long straights.
“We’ll have to make the car as slippery as possible if we want to score points again,” he added.
Meanwhile Fernando Alonso also looked set to score, but whilst running ninth, he retired when his car overheated, causing gearbox problems.
