Jenson Button admits it is "going to be a while" until McLaren is in a position to challenge for "big points" despite recent gains made by the team.
McLaren recorded its best result of the season in Monaco, where Fernando Alonso finished fifth and Button came home ninth. However the team benefited from other incidents in the race and had not qualified as high up as hoped on a circuit which rewards aerodynamic strength and placed less emphasis on its Honda power unit.
Honda is introducing an engine upgrade for the Canadian Grand Prix but Button does not think that will materialise into a sudden jump up the order.
"It's going to be a while until we're actually competitive enough to fight for big points," Button said. "But we are making big progress. People would think this is a circuit that wouldn't suit our car, I think it's going to be alright -- we've come here with some upgrades which should help us, it's not big but it should help us. I think we're very efficient in terms of our car. I know that ExxonMobil has been working really hard with Honda on fuels and we have an upgrade here which should help us in that area."
Button believes McLaren is in a difficult situation this season with regulation changes planned for 2017 but is sure the team is still headed in a good direction.
"From the outside you always ask the questions ... where is it, when is it going to be competitive? Every time I speak to the press it's 'how about now ... how about now ... how about now ... how about now...!' It's unbelievable, the pressure from the outside. But from the inside we know where we are. We know we're improving and I think the atmosphere in the team is very good. Fernando and myself are both very experienced, I think we bring a lot to the team in terms of our experience and direction."