Fernando Alonso believes McLaren has the potential to score a solid haul of points at this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.
In the first half of the season, McLaren has scored just two points from ten races and currently sits rock bottom in the constructors' championship. Honda's unreliable and underpowered power unit has left the team on the back foot since the first day of testing and the MCL32's only points came during a chaotic race of attrition in Azerbaijan.
The Hungarian Grand Prix is the first race since the Monaco Grand Prix in May to take place on a track without power-hungry straights, and Alonso -- who missed Monaco to race at the Indy 500 -- hopes his team can make the most of the opportunity.
"On paper, the Hungaroring presents one of the best opportunities for us this year," Alonso said. "The short, twisty circuit means we are less reliant on outright power, and the drivers have to really depend on the capabilities of the chassis to get the best out of the lap.
"The important thing for us, as always, is reliability. Even if our car could perform better in Hungary, we need to have a trouble-free weekend to take advantage of every opportunity for points. We made some big decisions in Silverstone in terms of taking grid penalties in preparation for this race, and hope that's paid off so we can put ourselves in the best possible position for points this weekend."
After incurring grid penalties for power unit changes at two of the last three races, McLaren racing director Eric Boullier underlined the importance of not incurring further penalties in Hungary.
"Together with Honda we're working hard to improve our reliability, and avoiding incurring grid penalties - especially on this track, where our car has the potential to perform more favourably - will be key to increasing our points tally, which we're all so determined to achieve," he said. "On the back of a successful tyre test with Pirelli, we hope to continue this momentum with a strong result in Budapest and follow it with useful mileage during the post-race in-season test, which we'll as a platform for further development in the second half of the season."