McLaren believe they can revive their season this weekend thanks to their record as the most successful team at the Monaco Grand Prix.

They have an unprecedented 15 victories in the principality and are going for three in a row after Lewis Hamilton won last year following on from the triumph of former team‑mate Fernando Alonso in 2007.

Defending champion Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen both finished outside the top eight at the last race in Spain and neither has reached double points for the season.

But team boss Martin Whitmarsh said: “Everybody at McLaren is rightfully proud of our reputation in Monte Carlo.

“As a result, we go into the race with a greater degree of optimism than we had going into Barcelona: both Lewis and Heikki enjoy this circuit and we feel our car, the MP4-24, will be a more competitive proposition around the streets of the principality.”

Hamilton is also looking forward to the race. The Briton said: “There's an expectation that it'll be another good circuit for our car package because the combination of low-speed corners and absence of any really fast stuff should suit the MP4-24.”