McLaren have yet to see two cars finish a grand prix this season, but the team are hoping that will change in Monaco this weekend, with Honda introducing reliability upgrades at the last event in Spain.
The team looked set for a two-car finish at the Spanish Grand Prix before Stoffel Vandoorne was involved in a clash with Williams' Felipe Massa which broke the Belgian's suspension, forcing him out of the race.
With Honda's upgrades seemingly delivering better reliability, McLaren's Eric Boullier is hopeful of seeing two cars cross the finish line on Sunday at a circuit which should suit their car as Monaco's streets put less focus on performance.
"From a trackside point of view, we’ll be bringing more updates to the car this weekend, which we hope will return positive feedback to mirror what we saw in Spain.
"Despite our result there, we‘re encouraged by the progress we’re making, and hope in Monaco we’ll have the opportunity to execute a more representative performance than those we’ve managed in recent races.
"Of course, the first priority is to finish the race with both cars, and work through the best possible strategy in order to give ourselves any fighting chance of a decent result. In Monaco, you can’t take anything for granted, and it’s certainly all to play for."
Honda's Yusuke Hasegawa is very much eyeing their first points finish, adding: "In Spain two weeks ago we showed some positive steps forward, and in Monaco outright power plays less of a role, so we are hoping the race will be a big opportunity for us. It’s very technical and a real drivers’ track with no margin for error, so set-up will be key as will a strong qualifying session.
"It’s our aim to keep pushing forward and give them both a car competitive enough to finish in the points."
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