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LONDON, England - McLaren may take a more 'radical' approach to its Formula 1 car if it's still uncompetitive by July 2014, said racing director Eric Boullier.
The team ousted Martin Whitmarsh as principal in January 2014 following its worst season since 1980. It has failed to score a point in three races despite having the same power unit as dominant Mercedes.
Jenson Button and rookie Kevin Magnussen finished 11th and 12th at the 2014 Spanish GP while former McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton chalked up his fourth successive win with Mercedes, who have won every race so far.
PLAYING CATCH-UP
Boullier told reporters that the team, whose form has plunged since Magnussen was second and Button third in the season-opener, was starting "from quite far back" but had everything in place to recover.
Boullier said: "I think the real question about how capable we are at catching up and how fast we can catch up will be from Austria to Silverstone.
"I'm not saying we're going to win at Silverstone, I'm saying we'll know more about our capability to catch up by these races. I don't think we will shift our focus onto 2015.
"It's possible that we will draw a line after Silverstone and we may go with more radical concepts."
McLaren is switching to Honda power units in 2015.
The team's home 2014 British GP (July 6) is the ninth round of the 19-race
championship. McLaren failed to score a point at Silverstone in 2013.
'MONACO COULD HURT US LESS'
The second most successful team in Formula 1 history, after Ferrari, failed to secure a single podium finish in 2013 and last won a race in November 2012.
McLaren is still without a title sponsor and the run of three races without a point is their worst since 2009 when they drew a blank in Spain and the three successive races. It is currently sixth in the Constructors' championship.
Boullier hoped to see an improvement at the 2014 Monaco GP: "We have seen very, very significant progress in the wind tunnel in the last few weeks, so I think we need to just understand where we are, where we want to go.
"Monaco could be not bad for us. Our car is well-balanced in low-speed corners and very driveable, so Monaco could hurt us less."
The team ousted Martin Whitmarsh as principal in January 2014 following its worst season since 1980. It has failed to score a point in three races despite having the same power unit as dominant Mercedes.
Jenson Button and rookie Kevin Magnussen finished 11th and 12th at the 2014 Spanish GP while former McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton chalked up his fourth successive win with Mercedes, who have won every race so far.
PLAYING CATCH-UP
Boullier told reporters that the team, whose form has plunged since Magnussen was second and Button third in the season-opener, was starting "from quite far back" but had everything in place to recover.
Boullier said: "I think the real question about how capable we are at catching up and how fast we can catch up will be from Austria to Silverstone.
"I'm not saying we're going to win at Silverstone, I'm saying we'll know more about our capability to catch up by these races. I don't think we will shift our focus onto 2015.
"It's possible that we will draw a line after Silverstone and we may go with more radical concepts."
McLaren is switching to Honda power units in 2015.
The team's home 2014 British GP (July 6) is the ninth round of the 19-race
championship. McLaren failed to score a point at Silverstone in 2013.
'MONACO COULD HURT US LESS'
The second most successful team in Formula 1 history, after Ferrari, failed to secure a single podium finish in 2013 and last won a race in November 2012.
McLaren is still without a title sponsor and the run of three races without a point is their worst since 2009 when they drew a blank in Spain and the three successive races. It is currently sixth in the Constructors' championship.
Boullier hoped to see an improvement at the 2014 Monaco GP: "We have seen very, very significant progress in the wind tunnel in the last few weeks, so I think we need to just understand where we are, where we want to go.
"Monaco could be not bad for us. Our car is well-balanced in low-speed corners and very driveable, so Monaco could hurt us less."