Just one race after Jenson Button declared that he didn’t expect McLaren to score a point all season, the Brit finished 8th in Monaco.
It was a strong weekend for McLaren Honda in Monte Carlo.
The 2009 Formula One World Champion very nearly squeezed his way through to Q3, only for a bit of traffic to see him miss out on the top ten shoot-out.
Two grid penalties however saw Button start the race in tenth place and he went on to finish the Monaco Grand Prix in eighth place, scoring McLaren Honda their first points of the 2015 Formula One World Championship.
‘It was a good race; I’m really happy for and very proud of the whole team.
‘This is a stepping stone to a hopefully positive future. We’re not going to be patting ourselves on the back too much for eighth place but it’s a good day.
‘We came here hoping to score points and we scored four. It was an unusual race, I really enjoyed it.’ Button told the BBC after the race.
McLaren Honda team-mate Fernando Alonso had an indifferent day, but also showed positive signs.
A five second timed penalty for a opening lap collision annoyed the former two-time F1 title holder, but ultimately a gearbox failure on lap 41 ended his race whilst also running on course for a points paying finish.
‘Of course not. I am in Turn Five on the inside, Hulkenberg on the outside where probably you need to back off.
‘To give penalties randomly like this is strange but it is what it is.’ Alonso said.
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