Thursday: Magnussen and McLaren lacking aerodynamic support
The day for the McLaren drivers went quite well, but there is still work to be done on the MP4-29 to make it better on the streets of Monaco.
Jenson Button (No. 22) – 11th and 8th
The Briton is thrilled to be back on the streets of the Principality, where he won in 2009: « It’s fantastic to be back in Monaco – it’s such an incredible circuit, and always very enjoyable. In the dry, these turbo cars provide a good feeling, even though there’s not much mechanical grip, which makes things more difficult. »
Button was not completely satisfied with the Pirelli tires: « The super-softs are a good tire compound, but more complicated in the rain – the intermediates do not really work, even when the track is almost dry. »
The McLaren driver hopes for favorable weather for the rest of the weekend to properly prepare for the end of the Monaco weekend: « I hope we will have some dry track time on Saturday morning – I think everyone needs a bit more time to fully perfect their setups. »
Kevin Magnussen (No.20) – 9th and 10th
The Dane had a trouble-free day but it was not extraordinary either as the McLaren is still improvable: « We didn’t have any problems today – we’re simply lacking downforce. When our aerodynamicists can solve that, hopefully, we will be able to maintain the good balance we have and make progress. We haven’t worked enough on our settings to fully assess our progress, but I am comfortable in the car. »
