Eric Boullier says there wasn’t “much to shout about” for the McLaren team after a difficult Mexican Grand Prix.
The Woking-based squad qualified 11th and 13th with Fernando Alonso ahead of Jenson Button, but both drivers struggled to overtake at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Boullier admitted there were a number of reasons why Button and Alonso ended up 12th and 13th, describing it as a “frustrating” race.
“Clearly, when you qualify 11th and 13th, as we did, there isn’t much to shout about when you manage to convert those starting positions to only 12th and 13th,” he said.
“But the race was a tough one for us, for many reasons. First, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a decidedly difficult circuit on which to overtake, as a result of which our drivers were held up behind Carlos’s [Sainz] Toro Rosso for many laps.
“Second, we were forced to down-tune Fernando’s power unit during the race, which obviously handicapped him to some extent and third, there was a delay during Fernando’s second pit-stop, which lost him a further two or three seconds.
“These things happen – that’s racing – but it’s always frustrating for driver and team alike when they do.
“Anyway, from here we move on to Sao Paulo, Brazil, whose famously undulating Interlagos circuit will present a very different set of challenges.
“Having won the Brazilian Grand Prix no fewer than 12 times in our history, which is more than any other team, we hope to fare better there than we did here, although a 13th Brazilian Grand Prix victory will of course be out of our reach. But we hope points will be possible.”
