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Fernando Alonso says that after an encouraging result at the Australian Grand Prix, McLaren must now focus on catching Red Bull. Alonso crossed the line at Albert Park in fifth place, getting his and McLaren's 2018 campaign off to a strong start.
McLaren is hoping that this season will bring them a boost in race results, having been hampered by Honda's power unit from 2015 to 2017. This year however, it has Renault's engine in the back of its car which has proven to possess stronger pace.
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In just McLaren's first race with Renault, it has matched its best result from the three years it spent in partnership with Honda. Speaking about his race, Alonso says that there is still a lot of potential in the car that is yet to be unlocked.
"It is the first race with this [McLaren-Renault] combination so a lot more to come and hopefully from Bahrain we will see another step forward and Red Bull will be the next target," Alonso told Sky F1. "There is a lot of potential in the car but still to be unlocked."
Despite finishing almost twenty seconds behind Daniel Ricciardo, Alonso is confident that McLaren will close in on the energy drink team, and expects that the Woking-based squad will leave the mid-field fight in the coming races.
"Right now [Red Bull] are still clearly ahead of us and are in that exclusive group of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. McLaren is willing to enter that group and I think in the coming races we will forget the middle group and we look forward to those privilege three top teams."
Fergal Walsh
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Replies (7)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Lets not get ahead of yourself there, Alonso. McLaren did well for sure, but you were lucky when Haas messed up. Im not sure next time will be so easy.
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
I can't see them fighting Red Bull in the next few races... Or even by the end of the season
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I can see them chasing Red Bull, but I cant see them mounting a genuine challenge towards Red Bull in an outright battle, especially at the end of the season. RB is far too much of a late blommer boomer for that. If ever, it'll be McLaren picking up the scraps when Red Bull and Haas screw up. I think Haas seem more ready to challenge RB than McLaren. So from this race it seems like
Mercedes vs Ferrari vs Red Bull
Haas
McLaren vs Renault
Force India vs Williams
STR vs Sauber
But it all depends on how representative this race was. The order of the last four teams are a bit murky, TBH.
Jutlandia
Posts: 191
You're right on that.
I simply cant understand why he is talking McLada up this way.
They will not be near RB this season or the next for that matter.
Today 5. place was purely luck and somebody's unluck.
xoya
Posts: 583
Maybe he is trully expecting a MASSIVE aero upgrade, since that car is still pretty basic aero-wise.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
AFAIK, no such upgrades are ready for a few races to come. But he can dream. Remaining patient was never Alonso's forte.
Jutlandia
Posts: 191
Since Alonso is one of the masterminds behind the engine supply change, he has to justify has actions.
But he is way of this time....