JULY 19, 2012

McLaren pins hopes on Hockenheim upgrade

After a disappointing British GP in which Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button could only finish eighth and tenth respectively, McLaren's drivers have high hopes of significant aerodynamic and mechanical upgrades to be introduced at Hockenheim this weekend.

After a disappointing British GP in which Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button could only finish eighth and tenth respectively, McLaren's drivers have high hopes of significant aerodynamic and mechanical upgrades to be introduced at Hockenheim this weekend.

Jenson Button, who won the first race of the season in Melbourne, said that Ferrari and Red Bull were now clearly head and conceded that McLaren's pace of development has not matched those teams.

"I don't think we've had a big enough upgrade before to be in the mix," he said, "But here we have that update and I hope that it takes us back to the front."

Button is hopeful that McLaren's mods will give the MP4-27 more downforce and said: "The more of that you have, the fewer issues everywhere else. It helps you get tyre temperature and in other wats too."

Team mate Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, refused to be negative about McLaren's so-called "crisis meeting" and said that an opportunity to talk everything through with significant team members was actually "empowering."

He says he has not given up on winning a second championship in 2011.

"Absolutely not," he said. "It's about how we go forward and there are plenty of points still to be won."