- McLaren
Boullier: Summer break won't hamper McLaren
Eric Boullier does not think McLaren will lose any of the momentum from its recent upturn in performance despite the summer shutdown which will take effect after the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Though there are four weeks between Hungarian and Belgium, for a fortnight every factory will be closed and work of any kind prohibited. McLaren has made clear steps forward over the last couple of races but Boullier is not worried by losing focus during the summer and predicts the team can keep making gains beyond the Singapore Grand Prix in late September.
"I'm not so sure, to be honest," Boullier told journalists at a McLaren phone-in when asked if the shutdown would hamper McLaren's recent progress. "I think it's nice for the guys travelling to have a rest. I don't think it is going to stop it. We have just now started seeing the result of working hard over the four months and making sure our organisation can deliver some performance.
"As I have said before we will keep developing the car and work on as many areas as we can, so we could keep the development of this car until Singapore and then maybe after. In the pipeline we have some development between now and Monza, Spa and Singapore so we will keep up the momentum even if we have a two week break."
The next logical step for McLaren is to put itself in a position to challenge the likes of Red Bull and fellow Mercedes customer Williams, but Boullier admits he has reservations about how quickly this can be achieved.
"Yes, we will try to catch up with Williams and Red Bull. I don't think the two weeks between Hungary and Spa will be enough. As I have said before we will keep developing the car and work on as many areas, so we could keep the development of this car until Singapore and then maybe after."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
