Fernando Alonso admitted McLaren's predictions ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix were "over optimistic" after he qualified tenth.
Alonso and McLaren had expected McLaren to be competitive in Monte Carlo, pointing to the strength of the chassis at a circuit which rewards aerodynamics over engine power. As it turned out Alonso was the only McLaren to make it into the top-ten shootout, finishing six tenths behind the Force Indias in fifth and seventh.
The Spaniard thought he would be higher up the grid.
"To get to Q3 is the first goal but we expected a bit more, to be 7th or 8th," he said. "We didn't have the pace, I didn't have the feeling in the car all weekend, so let's see tomorrow. Maybe it will rain and we'll try to take whatever chances we are given.
"We had problems to warm the tyres up, we didn't optimise the performance and the weekend has been a bit disappointing so far. If the race is in the dry there won't be surprises, but if rains or there are incidents, anything can happen."
Alonso admitted the performance had similarities to 2015 in Monaco, when McLaren fell short of the lofty expectations it had set itself.
"Probably our predictions were over optimistic, before coming here, but let's see tomorrow if we can score a lot of points and finish the weekend on a high. Last year we expected to be competitive here and were 10th; we expected to be uncompetitive in Canada and we were 10th... Let's see how the season goes and try to take any opportunity we can have."
The double world champion is set to start ninth after Kimi Raikkonen serves a grid penalty and is sure McLaren can leave Monte Carlo with points in the bag.
"In the end we've made it into Q3, which is the first goal, but I still don't have the perfect feeling with the car. I don't have the full confidence to attack the corners here in Monaco, so I'll be P9 tomorrow with Kimi's penalty, it's not bad, and we'll see what we can do tomorrow, hopefully we can score some points."