After the dismal Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix, McLaren were hoping for a bit better at their home event at Silverstone. Whilst a first lap melee resulted in the two cars coming together, one managed to keep it running and due to the high rate of attrition that the race brought, he even managed to bring it home in a points-paying position. It’s no course for celebration however, as it was very much clear in both qualifying and in the race that there is still a monumental amount of work to do to catch the tailend of the midfield let alone the likes of Mercedes, Williams and Ferrari (and now to a degree Force India).
2015 British Grand Prix McLaren Review
No. 14 Fernando Alonso
Grid: P17
Race: P10
Alonso looked to be the stronger of the two McLarens for much of the weekend. However he was unable to do anything special with the car and was knocked out in the first qualifying session. He started well in the race but he lost control of the car whilst avoiding the Lotuses which collided. However he managed to hit his team mate in the process, breaking his front wing. The safety car which followed brought Alonso back into play, and Marcus Ericsson’s late hash-up with tyre strategy moved Alonso into the points. It marks the first time this season that the Spaniard has finished in the top 10.
No. 22 Jenson Button
Grid: P18
Race: DNF (Lap 1 collision)
Button’s home record unsurprisingly failed to improve here. He was the last of all of the non-Manor cars in qualifying, looked pretty dismal in free practice and he was wiped out by his team mate in the race. It was very much early doors for the Briton at his home Grand Prix.
Main image: