The car was nicknamed the "size zero Formula One car" by the team for its distinct sharply tapered rear end, which was achieved by designing the Honda engine to operate at higher temperatures than other engines. At the end of the season, the car recorded a best finish of fifth place at the , and had scored just twenty-seven points, leaving McLaren ninth in the World Constructors' Championship. Button and Alonso were classified in sixteenth and seventeenth positions respectively, in the World Drivers' Championship, while Magnussen was not formally classified, as he did not start the one race that he entered. This made 2015 the most difficult season in Formula One that the team had endured in thirty-five years, as a string of technical problems and retirements compromised the car's performance. An analysis of the project pointed towards failure in communication between McLaren and Honda, Honda under-estimating the technology required for the engine, and critical faults in the engine's design, as the cause of the team's problems.