Jenson Button believes McLaren can bounce back and turn its season around after two races without a top 10 result.
Clutch problems led to both Button and team-mate Kevin Magnussen failing to make the finish in Bahrain.
Meanwhile, the cooler temperatures and the demanding Shanghai International Circuit in China highlighted the MP4-29's flaws.
Formula 1 returns to Spain this weekend for the first European race of the season. It is always an important weekend, with all 11 teams on the grid taking major upgrade packages to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
"For us, it’s not simply about bringing new parts to the circuit: it’s about understanding and unlocking the car’s secrets, and using that understanding to take bigger steps with performance," Button said.
"We’re still at the early stages with our car, and, for us, it’s less about the components that we fit to it, and more about the bigger picture – finding a useful direction, gaining trust in our measurements and pushing ahead."
He is confident that McLaren can return to the front: "We all know that this team has the capacity to develop a car through a season, so I hope and trust that we’ll start to push forwards again soon."
Magnussen is hopeful that the race weekend will bring better fortunes, adding: "I think the problems we encountered in China have definitely given us the data and the impetus we need to make some changes, so I’m keen to get back in the car on Friday and see if we’ve made a step forward."
Racing director Eric Boullier said McLaren has been hard at work since the Chinese Grand Prix trying to understand the problems with the MP4-29.
"For us, the weekend will be about learning, and hopefully moving on from our disappointing performance in China last month," explained the former Lotus team principal.
"The root of our under-performance has been comprehensively analysed; we know the areas where our package falls short, and we’ve taken steps – both short- and long-term – to address those. While not all of those will be in evidence in Barcelona this weekend, they mark the start of a fresh push and spirit within the whole organisation."
He continued: "I’m hopeful that we are on the right track to steadily start pushing ourselves back towards the front."
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| © McLaren Mercedes |
Formula 1 returns to Spain this weekend for the first European race of the season. It is always an important weekend, with all 11 teams on the grid taking major upgrade packages to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
"For us, it’s not simply about bringing new parts to the circuit: it’s about understanding and unlocking the car’s secrets, and using that understanding to take bigger steps with performance," Button said.
"We’re still at the early stages with our car, and, for us, it’s less about the components that we fit to it, and more about the bigger picture – finding a useful direction, gaining trust in our measurements and pushing ahead."
He is confident that McLaren can return to the front: "We all know that this team has the capacity to develop a car through a season, so I hope and trust that we’ll start to push forwards again soon."
Magnussen is hopeful that the race weekend will bring better fortunes, adding: "I think the problems we encountered in China have definitely given us the data and the impetus we need to make some changes, so I’m keen to get back in the car on Friday and see if we’ve made a step forward."
Racing director Eric Boullier said McLaren has been hard at work since the Chinese Grand Prix trying to understand the problems with the MP4-29.
"For us, the weekend will be about learning, and hopefully moving on from our disappointing performance in China last month," explained the former Lotus team principal.
"The root of our under-performance has been comprehensively analysed; we know the areas where our package falls short, and we’ve taken steps – both short- and long-term – to address those. While not all of those will be in evidence in Barcelona this weekend, they mark the start of a fresh push and spirit within the whole organisation."
He continued: "I’m hopeful that we are on the right track to steadily start pushing ourselves back towards the front."
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