McLaren will find half a second of performance per lap before the next race in Malaysia, according to team chairman Ron Dennis.
The Woking squad currently lead the Constructors’ championship after a double podium in Australia last weekend thanks to Kevin Magnussen’s second and Jenson Button’s third.
However the team didn’t have the pace to challenge the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg, and whilst Dennis admits half a second still won’t be enough to do that, he is confident it will move them ahead of their nearest rivals.
“These intercontinental races limit how fast you can develop the car but nevertheless we will give it our best shot,” said the Briton.
“We are confident that we will be half a second quicker at the next grand prix, for a variety of reasons.
“That will not be enough to achieve our goal but it will keep the pressure on those teams that are chasing us.”
The team are expected to bring a rather large upgrade package to the race which they weren’t able to evaluate during pre-season testing as they focused on reliability.
