Kovalainen realistic on McLaren form

With the tight confines of the Monte Carlo street circuit expected to play into the hands of the MP4-24, Kovalainen is optimistic that this weekend's event will give McLaren a chance to shine.

However, he believes that there is still a lot of improvement needed before McLaren can feel it has fully recovered from its disappointing start to the year.

"I don't think that we should put too many expectations on any weekend," the Finn told AUTOSPORT.

"We know the car is still not quick enough, but potentially it could be a bit better here than it was in Barcelona. We have a few upgrades again for the car, so let's see where we are tomorrow and go from there."

Although McLaren endured a difficult Spanish Grand Prix a fortnight ago, with the high-speed demands of the Barcelona circuit exploiting the weakness in the team's car, Kovalainen remains encouraged by the progress the team has made.

"I think we have made quite a massive gain between the last test that we did before the start of the season and now - I think we've gained a big chunk of the lap time," he said.

"So if we can carry on doing that over the next few months obviously it will help us a lot. Obviously at the last race everybody had their upgrades, and we should have upgrades coming regularly. Hopefully more often than the competitors."

When asked if he was surprised by how quickly McLaren has managed to claw back the lap time deficit, Kovalainen said: "No, I'm not surprised. I think if any team can do that, it is McLaren.

"It has been very interesting to follow the reaction of the team very closely. Since we realised that we had a problem, what the team has done since then is very impressive. So I am not surprised. I think maybe some people are surprised, but I think the team has the capability to do that. So I am expecting even more."