The headline has been deliberately over-sensationalised, in truth Jenson Button hasn’t slammed his team he has merely articulated what is obvious for all to see. That the 2016 McLaren Honda is again under-performing. This is a significant step because last year the McLarens were barely performing at all.
During a recent interview Button said “I’m sure it’s not the best car out there, the car feels good and we’re definitely heading in the right direction”
Reliability killed McLaren last year and that was during pre-season testing. The race season proper was nothing short of a disaster as Honda struggled to get to grips with new engine regulations.
“We need to keep pushing and working hard to bring more improvements and power for us to see further progression” said Button.
“There’s areas we need to improve on the car, as well as the power unit, so you can’t just point a finger at one area that needs to be improved.”“Bahrain, you wouldn’t have thought it would have been a circuit that suited us, but I think the pace was pretty good and I had a chance of getting a good result.”“In terms of trying to find the power that Mercedes and Ferrari have I think that is always going to be difficult when you are behind because they are always improving.”“The car is pretty good, I don’t think it’s as good as a Ferrari or a Mercedes but there aren’t many cars I don’t think apart from those two that are stronger than us.”
Button and McLaren will get to see if the Honda engine has improved as the F1 Circus heads to Sochi for the Russia GP this weekend.
