McLaren racing director Eric Boullier predicts the ailing British team will soon be back fighting at the sharp end of the Formula One grid.

McLaren have endured a disastrous campaign following their renewed partnership with Honda.

The Japanese engine supplier has desperately struggled with reliability and performance on their return to the grid and McLaren have scored only a paltry five points from nine races in 2015.

But Boullier expects Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button to challenge the top six once Honda solve the reliability issues which have plagued their season.

“We all know the level of commitment from McLaren – that doesn’t need to be discussed – but the positive is the level of commitment of Honda, and the fact we know that our cars have not tenths but seconds of potential that can be unlocked,” Boullier told the official Formula One website.

“We cannot physically use that because we have reliability issues, but if we overcome those we will be able to make major steps forward, believe me.”

Alonso benefited from a number of retirements at the British Grand Prix to score his first point of the season after finishing in 10th position.

Button, whose only points-scoring finish of the campaign came in Monaco earlier this year, has failed to reach the chequered flag in the last three races.

Button’s outing at Silverstone lasted only 20 seconds after he was inadvertently punted out of the race by Alonso on the opening lap.

“We are not doing a good enough job right now in the championship – but we know that we have a lot of potential in our car,” Boullier added.

“Just give us time. Once we’ve solved some of the reliability issues we will make absolutely significant steps forward.”

Asked whether he was looking forward to the three-week break between the race at Silverstone and the Hungarian Grand Prix next Sunday, Alonso said: “It will be nice to have a break until next year.”

But despite McLaren’s miserable campaign, and Alonso’s gloomy response, Boullier still expects the team, a winner of a combined 20 drivers’ and constructors’ titles, to be competitive before the end of the year.

“If you tell me tomorrow that we can run full downforce then we will be seconds faster,” he added.

“We will feel competitive if we can be in Q3 all the time and fighting for top six. That would be a major achievement even if it does not sound very exciting, as we are here to win.

“We still target being competitive by the end of the season.”

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