Boullier teases ‘exciting changes’ on MCL32

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says there will be "exciting changes" on the MCL32 when the team's new car is launched on February 24.

Following Ron Dennis' departure in November, McLaren has undergone a number of changes on the personnel side, with Zak Brown arriving as executive director and Jost Capito leaving as chief executive of McLaren Racing. Another move was announced earlier this week with team manager Dave Redding set to join Williams, but there are also expected to be changes on the car itself with McLaren poised to revert to a livery featuring papaya orange.

Boullier has dropped the biggest hint yet regarding the new colors, saying there will be some noticeable differences when the 2017 car is launched.

"There will always be changes, and that's the way it always should be," Boullier said in a statement posted on the McLaren website. "As you know, a Formula 1 car itself never stays the same from one race to the next. Across the businesses, in fact, we're triggering other changes – and we've got some exciting changes planned for our new car, the MCL32, but we want those to be kept secret until we show it to the world on February 24th!"

The Frenchman also says the reshuffling within the team following Redding's departure – which sees Paul James become team manager, Kari Lammenranta take on James' former role of chief mechanic and Marc Cox replace Lammenranta as number one mechanic on Fernando Alonso's car – is a sign of how highly McLaren rates its members.

Asked if he contemplated recruiting from other teams for any of the roles, Boullier replied: "No, not even for a second.

"Why not? Let me tell you: what makes me really proud about all of this is that, when we understood that Dave would be leaving us, we were able to recruit entirely from within to replace and regroup. That not only tells you a lot about the strength in depth at McLaren, but it also indicates the very high esteem in which we regard our own people."