“After that, though, I got my head down and pushed hard until the end of the race. I've been out of the points for three races now – but there are still ten to go. Kimi [Raikkonen] came from behind to win last year's championship, so there's no reason to be disheartened. I'm ten points behind, but I'm determined to bounce back at Silverstone in front of my home crowd.”
Those sentiments were echoed by both the Woking-based outfit's team principal Ron Dennis and Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President Norbert Haug, even if
McLaren has now slipped to some 33 points adrift of arch-rivals
Ferrari in the constructors' rankings in the wake of its French trials and tribulations and the
Scuderia's contrasting success.
“A challenging weekend for us,” Dennis acknowledged. “Lewis' race was severely hampered by his drive-through penalty. Now, though, we must draw a line under this weekend and look ahead. We've got a competitive car and two excellent drivers, and as such we're in great shape.
“We need to focus on the British Grand Prix, and on getting the best results we possibly can at Silverstone, where we feel confident we'll once again be able to challenge at the front.”
"Our pace wasn't too bad,” agreed Haug. “Without his drive-through penalty, third place would definitely have been possible for Lewis despite starting 13th. We all now concentrate on the first of two consecutive ‘home' grands prix at
Silverstone. Lewis' gap to the top is ten points, and that is still not too big a gap."
