Eric Boullier: “McLaren, the team I watched when I was a child”

“It’s the name McLaren who made me come. This is the stable that I watched when I was a child, with the era of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost » explains the former Lotus Team Principal F1 on the official F1 website. For the Frenchman, McLaren can return to the top step of the podium this year. In any case, this is the stated objective. “I want to win races, or at least one. » McLaren will benefit from the engine for the last year Mercedes, before the arrival of Honda in 2015, which for the moment seems the best block on the field in view of the pre-season tests in Jerez and Bahrain. “I think Mercedes will be very strong, but that being said, there are other teams who are not at their maximum in terms of development. Reliability will be key for the first four races, and from Barcelona we will see the real hierarchy. »

Concerning Renault, the engine designer of his former team, Eric Boullier admits to being surprised by the poor shape of the French blocks. “But I'm surprised as I am about Mercedes' work. he declares. “It’s certain that with teams like Red Bull and Lotus as partners, everyone saw Renault in a better position. »

McLaren, like all the teams powered by Mercedes, is one of the teams having accumulated the most kilometers in Bahrain, despite a day without yesterday on the Sakhir route.