McLaren to get engine boost at Nurburgring

The team have admitted that rivals Renault are the sport's current 'benchmark' but that hopes are high of an improved challenge by the time the teams get to the Nurburgring next week.

"The engine has got to be proved on the track and the dyno, but it is all about pushing," said McLaren's F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh.

"On the chassis side as well we have got a few bits of pieces of aero, which we are running at Silverstone, and hopefully those will bring a few tenths between them.

"We are a few tenths behind Renault at the moment, but you also know that when your driver gets close behind a competitor they find a little bit in themselves typically."

Looking back at McLaren's performance at the San Marino Grand Prix, Whitmarsh confesses that his team should have done better than the podium finish they ended up with.

"As far as our own race was concerned, we have got to accept at the moment that in terms of performance we are not quite good enough," he explained. "I think Renault are benchmark, and we could have done a better job.

"It was a weekend where we weren't benchmark performance. We are close and improving, but not quite as a team performing as well as could have done.

"From where we put ourselves after qualifying the result is okay: we snuck one point from Renault in the constructors' championship and we are second place there, while Kimi is third in the drivers' championship.

"It is going to be a long season and we are going to try to improve our car, engine and package. We are going to win some races and we are certainly going to keep flogging to try to make it an exciting championship."

When asked whether it was more frustrating this year to leave Imola having under performed but score points, or like last year to have retired from the lead, Whitmarsh said: "The reality is that they are both frustrating, but on balance you would rather have a pride in having the quickest car and there are different types of pain.

"You want to have the quickest car but when you throw it away it is deeply frustrating. We took too long to get our season going last year and we are doing a little bit of that this year, but we will see.

"Hopefully in the next few races we can bang in a race win and get on form and do the job. We are close but I think I accept that we have got to find a few tenths in our car relative to Renault - taking a few tenths if they are taking a few tenths does not get us there.

"I think it was their race. Fernando Alonso could have and should have won the race, they made a fairly fundamental mistake in strategy."