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Just before the start of the race, McLaren were buoyed by the news that Honda would be making a return to the sport and would be their engine supplier from 2015. The deal will see McLaren run both Honda’s all-new V6 turbocharged engine and energy recovery system.
The car performance seemed to have improved this weekend, with both the cars making it into Q3 and Perez finishing 7th and Button on 9th in Q3.
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As the race started, within a couple of laps, Button had moved up to 8th and was battling with Perez for the 7th position. The team-mates have had their fair share of controversy with quite a few incidents already this season and the last thing Martin Whitmarsh would have wanted is a lapse in concentration leading to another embarrassing collision for the team.
Button saw an opening at Nouvelle chicane and tried to make a move and Perez defended by cutting the chicane and staying ahead. Button furiously protested to his team on the radio and McLaren ordered Perez to give up the place to his team-mate. After the first pit-stop, the positions remained the same and Button made minor contact with Alonso at the hairpin. He seemed distracted as he asked on his radio to check data and see if the wing has been damaged but Perez caught his team-mate off-guard and made a fantastic move coming out of the tunnel into the chicane and made the same move on Alonso, but the Spaniard cut the chicane and held on.
During the restart after the red flag though, Alonso was asked by his team to give up his position to the Mexican youngster. Meanwhile, Jenson lost a place to Sutil, who also managed to get past Alonso. On lap 71, Button made a very opportunistic move on Alonso, who by this time was struggling for grip and held on to take the chequered flag in 6th place. For Perez, it proved third-time unlucky, as he tried to squeeze his car on the inside again coming out of the tunnel , but was pushed into the barriers by Raikkonen, forcing the Mexican to retire.
In spite of having a mediocre season so far, both the drivers insist that the car is improving and that there is potential to challenge for podium, but top-3 looks to be quite a distance away at the moment.
