McLaren chassis worthy of podiums – Boullier

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has suggested that the team had a chassis capable of podiums in 2017, despite finishing ninth in the Formula 1 constructors’ standings.

The season proved to be the third and last of McLaren’s partnership with power unit supplier Honda, as the Japanese marque failed to deliver performance rivaling that of Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault.

Reports suggested that Honda’s power output was as much as 150bhp adrift of the highest power modes available to the Mercedes runners.

Regardless, McLaren managed to amass 30 points in spite of the power deficiencies in 2017 and ended the season with three consecutive points scoring finishes, highlighting the strength of the team’s chassis.

When asked by the official F1 website whether McLaren had been able to find positives in 2017, Boullier stated; “yes, a lot. When you look at what we have achieved in terms of car performance – chassis performance – we know that we are back on the podium, at the top.

“That for me is a huge reward – that we have achieved this in difficult circumstances.

“The other positive I take from the past three years is that the team is really joined now. We have been suffering so much for three years, but at the same time nobody has left the team.

“Everybody agreed that this team will be winning again. There is a huge trust and confidence in what we are trying to achieve and because of that we have gone up, up, up, and keep developing this car.”

McLaren will switch to Renault power for 2018. Despite facing their own reliability gremlins this year, the French manufacturer powered Red Bull to three victories over the course of the season.

Given the reported strength of the chassis, optimism is growing regarding the prospect of McLaren swiftly returning to the podium with Renault power.

However, the team’s management is keen to downplay expectations.

“I think it would be wrong to draft any expectations now,” Boullier added. “I am a fan of the motto ‘over-deliver but under-promise’! So no promises. Let’s see where we will be.”