This season’s Monaco Grand Prix will surely be the topic of discussion for the foreseeable future because of the interesting strategy call by the Mercedes team. However, there is another team that deserves some attention. McLaren has scored their first points since reviving their partnership with Honda. Jenson Button took four points for the team, after finishing in eighth position. His teammate, Fernando Alonso, was again hindered by mechanical failures, causing him to retire from the race. The problem was with the gearbox and occurred on lap 45.
Because of Monaco’s unpredictable nature, many fans of the British team had a sense of optimism. The team had announced earlier in the year at they would be able to provide a competitive car by May. For many, that optimism quickly turned into doubt, after the McLaren duo failed to advance to the final qualifying session. They would be starting from twelfth and fifteenth on the grid. With an underperforming car, it was clear that the team had their work cut out for them.
Both drivers found themselves in points positions after only five laps. Unfortunately, Alonso earned himself a penalty for contact with Nico Hülkenberg’s Force India. He later served the penalty while pitting for tyres. His misfortune would not end there, as he would retire later in the race. Although it was sad to retire, Alonso preferred to put a positive spin on the incident: “That’s frustrating because we could have had both cars in the point for the first time this season. We need to keep improving the car to ensure these sorts of things don’t happen again. Still, having these problems this year is good, because it means we won’t repeat them next year.”
After the other drivers had cycled through their pit stops, Button was classified in eighth position: the place in which he would stay from the remainder of the event. Button was ecstatic and bit surprised with the team’s performance: “It’s been a positive day for us. We were hoping to score a point today, and we scored four. I certainly didn’t expect to finish eighth. I’m really happy for the team – we’ve worked hard to get into this position, and they deserve this. We have work to do, but this is a hugely positive step for us.”
Monaco is a track like no other on the calendar and a race where engine performance is not a high priority. Was McLaren and Honda’s performance spike a true improvement or simply another one of those Monaco Miracles? We’ll have to wait until the Canadian Grand Prix to see.
