McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says the team will take the new 2017 Formula 1 season “race-by-race” after a difficult winter testing.
The team’s running was limited by numerous Honda power unit problems, with concerns over whether the new MCL32 can finish the first race in Australia.
Ahead of the 2017 season opener in Melbourne, Boullier has admitted McLaren will take the season step by step and the team has been working hard to resolve the issues for the first race.
“It’s no secret we at McLaren-Honda had a more difficult two weeks of testing than we’d anticipated, and we’ve been working together closely since returning from Barcelona to address the issues we’ve faced in time for the first race of the season,” he explained.
“As a team, we’re very excited to be going racing again, but aware of the unknowns that face us as the lights go out to start a new era of Formula 1.
“We don’t yet know where the formbook lies, so until we hit the track on Friday morning it’s impossible to predict how the weekend will unfold.
“We will approach this season race-by-race – for us Australia will be the benchmark by which we can understand where we are in relation to the rest of the field, and what we need to do to tackle the coming grands prix.
“We won’t make any promises or predictions about our performance or results, but McLaren and Honda will continue to work together in partnership and maximise everything we have in our package.”
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