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McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has said that the team hopes to use the positives from last week's Silverstone test at this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.
Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne completed a combined 219 laps at the two day post-race test, and Boullier was encouraged by the team's performance.
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"The test, ... was encouraging, and we definitely maximised the track time to collate some valuable data which our engineers in the UK and Japan are putting to good use on the development of the MP4-31," he said. "Not all will apply directly to the race in Hungary, of course, but we certainly hope that we can align the strengths of our package with the unique nature of the Hungaroring circuit."
"Over the past few races, we’ve endured some bad luck, made a few small mistakes, and suffered some reliability niggles. But, if we can enjoy a smooth weekend, I’m hopeful we can fulfil the potential that our package has shown at various points throughout the season so far, on both sides of the garage, and secure a result that, statistically, we know we’re capable of on this type of circuit."
Power has often been McLaren's achilles heel since they rekindled their previously successful partnership with Honda, but despite the Hungaroring's tendency to be less of a 'power circuit', Honda's F1 chief Yusuke Hasegawa still expects the team to be on the back-foot.
"Though the Hungaroring is not a power-oriented circuit, it still requires precise energy management throughout every lap of the race," he said. "It’s also a circuit where overtaking is extremely difficult, so it’ll be important for us to get the qualifying lap correct."
"Our target again is to reach Q3 and be in a good place to score more points, for which we have two skilled drivers that we have complete trust in to drive brilliantly through the gruelling 70-lap race."
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