McLaren legend says the team lacks leadership

The man who introduced carbon fibre to Formula One and revolutionised the sport has attacked his former team, criticising the leadership that has led to the low point they are now at.

John Barnard, who worked ay McLaren in the 1980s told Reuters: "I think it's a fundamental problem of technical leadership, because I don't think there is any there.

Barnard was speaking before the departure of Eric Boullier this morning.

McLaren have endured a period of disappointment and failure in the lest few years, failing to win a race since Jenson Button’s victory in Brazil in 2012, and not scoring a podium since the opening race of 2014.

McLaren switched to Honda in hope of bringing back the glory days of McLaren-Honda dominance, when Barnard was part of the team, but it was not to be. McLaren struggled with three years of no power and no reliability.

There have been improvements with Renault this year, but the team is still way off where it should be.

Barnard continued: "I think it needs somebody to set the direction and somebody to make sure that everybody is going in that direction and wants to go in that direction."