Race report: Canadian GP

Montoya, 29, lost out on a podium finish when he was disqualified for leaving the pit lane illegally.

Team boss Martin Whitmarsh said: "In the last four races he should have been on the podium, so it's deeply frustrating.

"We hope we can help him to win a few races this year and I am sure we will."

Whitmarsh added: "We have a lot of sympathy for him."

Montoya was thrown out at the weekend for ignoring a red light warning him not to exit the pit lane during the latter part of the Montreal race.

He has yet to finish on the podium since joining McLaren at the start of the season.

But Whitmarsh said: "There has been a lot of misfortune for Juan this year, he has had a bloody hard time.

"We want to get to the point where he is scoring a few points for the team."

None of us are perfect, we can do a better job McLaren team chief Martin Whitmarsh

Montoya left Williams to join the team alongside Finn Kimi Raikkonen this year to create what McLaren saw as one of the best line-ups on the grid.

He finished sixth on his McLaren debut in Australia after a rain-troubled qualifying session and fourth in Malaysia, but was then ruled out for two races when he fractured his shoulder in a sporting injury.

And Whitmarsh said: "At the start he had to get used to the team and we struggled to adapt to his driving style but once we adapted it he was out with the accident and missed two races.

"Since then he has had one issue after another. He would have been on the podium in Spain were it not for a fuelling incident and he would have been on the podium in Monaco were it not for an incident prior to the race.

"He would have been on the podium at the European Grand Prix had he not been punted from behind by Webber and he could have won this race until the incident under the safety car.

"None of us are perfect, we can do a better job - the team made a mistake and he made a mistake actually. Between us we screwed it up."