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McLaren will not settle for more of the same

ESPN Staff
May 31, 2014 « Raikkonen insists his 'motivation is intact' | Ricciardo never doubted challenging Vettel »
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Eric Boullier says McLaren cannot be satisfied to just consolidate its place back in the points in Canada with upgrades planned for the Montreal race.

Since both drivers finished on the podium in Australia McLaren has struggled, languishing fifth in the constructors' standings with 52 points. In Monaco the team ended a run of three races without a point but racing director Boullier has his eyes firmly set on making further inroads in Canada, especially as he predicts the circuit will suit McLaren.

"I think honestly it should be both," Boullier said when asked whether his focus in Montreal will be cementing McLaren's place in the points or climbing back towards the front. "First of all I think first of all we have been bringing upgrades regularly since the beginning of the season, but clearly we had a strong push since Barcelona.

"In Monaco we had a lot of mechanical upgrades on the car. The track layout in Canada is high-speed in long straight lines, a high-speed track but with no high-speed corners. It's a lot of chicanes and low-speed corners, which suit our car so we should actually be in a better shape in Canada than we were in Monaco."

Boullier agrees with comments recently made by Alain Prost that McLaren needs a rethink in its approach after being outgunned by newer teams to the grid like Red Bull and Mercedes.

"Yes I agree with the comments of Alain and this is what I've been doing now since I started. I think the double points finish of last weekend was mostly due to the track layout, which suited our car. But it also involved the hard work which we are doing in Woking and coming up in the next couple of races we have seen some push from the development side of the car and going to go through now the next races and that is due to the change of direction."

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