Jenson Button is taking a cautious view on McLaren’s latest upgrade package, which it will debut at the Spanish Grand Prix in a week.
The Woking-based outfit has fallen back into the midfield as it struggles to understand its MP4-28. Whilst Button is hopeful the developments will deliver, he’s warned that they’re just the start of the team’s recovery.
“It’s been difficult for the team to make consistent progress through the first four races, but I think returning to a circuit where we undertook two of the pre-season tests will give us a useful benchmark of our progress so far,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of talk about the importance of next weekend’s upgrades; but, as with every upgrade, they’re simply part of the series of continuous improvement that are made across the season.
“As always, there’ll be elements of it that work, elements that perhaps work in a different way to what we’d anticipated, and elements that don’t work, or perhaps require further work. That’s life in modern Formula 1,” he explained.
“So I’m pragmatic about what we’ll discover next weekend. Of course, I’m hopeful that it’ll move us a step closer towards the destination.”
Team principal Martin Whitmarsh is hoping the weekend will at least deliver useful information for the team to better understand their car.
“We are pushing ahead to develop MP4-28, and will be hoping for a productive weekend that will allow us to gather a useful data set for the races ahead.”
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