McLaren’s Formula One engineering director Matt Morris is cautiously confident that the team has finally turned the corner after its dismal 2015 season, and that the team will be able to make steady, consistent progress in the remainder of the current season.
“I think in terms of our performance, if you look back at the last 18 months, we’ve been gradually improving against pretty much all our competitors,” said Morris.
“Obviously in the last few races we’ve been genuine top ten contenders and therefore the limelight has been on us a little bit more.”
A key factor in McLaren’s improving fortunes is a closer working relationship with their engine manufacturer Honda. “The team, both Woking and Sakura, are working well together and that’s shown in our recent results,” Morris acknowledged.
He added that he was also pleased to see the end of the radio communications ban which Jenson Button fell foul of in Hungary when the McLaren pit wall had to tell him how to fix a brake problem, incurring a drive-thru penalty as a result.