"We thought that Silverstone would suit the car but, after qualifying, we realised that we were not as competitive as we had hoped," he confirmed, "The position we are in at the moment is similar to last year but, this time, all the teams are much closer together, so it's more difficult to take a big step forward.

"If you can find three of four tenths with an upgrade, it can make a huge difference and put you five or six places higher up the grid. That's what the team is looking for – that magic component which gives us a big boost, but we know it's not easy to find.

"We have some new developments for this race, which will hopefully improve our situation and allow us to get some points in the race, but we know all the other teams will have improved as well."