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Fernando Alonso has told F1's official website that McLaren should try to learn from, and emulate, Red Bull's increasingly fruitful 2014 season as it desperately tries to overcome the problems that have affected its MCL32 car throughout testing thus far.
The Spaniard is particularly frustrated by these issues, which can be attributed primarily to the team's Honda power unit. McLaren have already endured two difficult years with this engine, although there were signs of gradual improvement last season.
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As 2017 begins, however, Alonso is clearly worried about the team's position, and the engine is once again an alarming cause for concern.
He nevertheless believes that McLaren and Honda can beat these problems, just as Red Bull overcame terrible form in pre-season testing to win three races thanks to Daniel Ricciardo three years ago.
Emerging from the cockpit after only 46 laps on Monday, Alonso told Spanish reporters: "Right now there is no secret - we cannot tell that we are happy and that everything is going okay. We have only one problem: the power unit.
"There is no reliability and there is no power. We are not completing our programme, we are not doing the laps we plan every morning. Our situation is far from ideal.
"On the other hand it is only winter testing. I remember 2014, Red Bull were doing like seven laps in winter testing and won two or three Grands Prix that year, so let's say that the season is long enough that you can have time to react.
"We are a big team. When you think about McLaren you are afraid of them, of an opponent, because you know that McLaren will sort things quickly - this is what we need. We need a reaction from everyone, stay united, work close to each other - but definitely a big reaction that I expect immediately."
In spite of the numerous hurdles facing McLaren, Alonso is still confident they and Honda will be well-prepared for the season opener in Melbourne in just two weeks' time.
"There are only two days left (of testing), so we're definitely a little bit behind schedule in terms of reliability and performance," he explained. "But this is winter testing and that's what it is about. Nothing to worry for Australia I guess, the team will be fully ready to compete on a good level. The only question mark is how much power we have."
Mason Hawker
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C. Sainz jr
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Replies (4)
Login to replyPatentprutser
Posts: 393
"We are a big team. When you think about McLaren you are afraid of them, of an opponent, because you know that McLaren will sort things quickly"
2 years of development and still this kind of problems. It's impossible to call this quick.
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
Just out of curiosity, are there any rules preventing a team from changing engine supplier mid-season?
I know McLaren and Honda have a contract, and another PU wouldn't fit and a thousand other things. But hypothetically, would it be legal?
Barron
Posts: 625
On the contrary, written into the design & construction regulations are certain PU installation parameters which are uniform across the five Constructors cars. This was written in so that teams always had a quick solution to any potential problem with a given PU supply..
So changing the make of PU in a season IS possible..
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
Right, I know some oh the parts are uniform. But Renault made a rather big deal about the fact that the Lotus was made for a Merc PU, and that it was a bit of a pain to fit the Renault PU.
Anyway, it's kinda interesting, as you'd almost except McLaren to have some kind of performance clause in the contract. And with both Alonso and Boulier slamming Honda publicly, you never know..