The haul of points was more than double what McLaren, whose new partnership with Honda has made a troubled start, had managed in their previous nine outings.
Fernando Alonso welcomed a surprise present of points on Sunday as McLaren's Hungarian Grand Prix went from woe to wonder in the space of a day.
The Spaniard, who had got out and pushed his car when it broke down in qualifying on Saturday, started 15th and finished fifth at the Hungaroring.
Team mate Jenson Button, who had been 16th on the grid, joined him in the points with ninth place -- the first time this season that former champions McLaren had got both cars in the points at the same race.
The haul of points was more than double what McLaren, whose new partnership with Honda has made a troubled start, had managed in their previous nine outings.
"It was a little present, to be honest, you know to be fifth," said Alonso, who took his first Formula One win at the circuit with Renault in 2003. "The race was a little surprise...chaotic in parts and some opportunities arrived and we took it. It's fantastic for the team."
Button, the 2009 world champion who also took his first F1 win at the circuit with Honda in 2006, agreed.
"It was a fun race, and it's great to get points ahead of the summer break," said the Briton. "The accidents and penalties certainly helped us, but we still did a good job out there today. This is a step forward for us, but we'll need to take another step if we're to repeat this sort of result. The next two races, at Spa and Monza, will probably be difficult for us but it's good to see we're making progress."
McLaren remained ninth of the 10 teams but are now only five points adrift of Sauber with nine races to go.
Related read: Formula One: Lewis Hamilton gets it wrong but still stretches lead
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