Alonso: McLaren can be fourth in 2016 and develop for 2017 F1 rules
Fernando Alonso believes McLaren has the potential to both claim fourth in the 2016 constructors' championship and focus on the major change required for the 2017 Formula 1 season
After finishing ninth last year, the worst position in its illustrious history, McLaren is making progress this season and is currently seventh, 57 points behind fourth-placed Williams.
Alonso sees no reason why McLaren cannot become the best of the rest behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull this year, although he recognises the challenges given the need at some point to fully concentrate on development for 2017.
Asked whether McLaren could end up fourth, Alonso replied: "I think so. I think at some circuits we could be more competitive than others.
"But it's a different situation because next year the regulation change has some implications in terms of how much you develop this year's cars.
"If we were in a normal situation we could keep improving and finish close to the top three teams.
"But next year's regulations require a job to do, and all the teams will stop the development of this year's cars and maybe we will get stuck at this performance level for the second part of the year.
"Let's see, but what is clear we are growing, we are moving in the right direction, with a lot of things coming this year that will make us more and more competitive.
"If we want to beat Mercedes, which has been the main goal for me the last two years when I made some decisions, I'm in the right place and hopefully the right moment."
Alonso feels McLaren has the resources in terms of finances and manpower to continue to develop on two fronts for both this year and next.
"Definitely you have some areas you have an advantage this year and next year, like on the fuel, the power unit, in some aspects also on the mechanical side of the car," added Alonso.
"We need to combine these two things, and also for the team it's important this year to finish as high as possible in the constructors' championship.
"It's not that you can stop completely this year, so we will try to do both things.
"We are a big a team and we are able to do both at the same time."
CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercedes | 223 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 147 |
| 3 | Red Bull/Renault | 130 |
| 4 | Williams/Mercedes | 81 |
| 5 | Force India/Mercedes | 42 |
| 6 | Toro Rosso/Ferrari | 32 |
| 7 | McLaren/Honda | 24 |
| 8 | Haas/Ferrari | 22 |
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
McLaren's Alonso sure some F1 teams will get new rules wrong
Formula 1 peaked in 2000s, not Senna/Prost era, Alonso believes
How Hamilton has battled his own mentality
Alonso explains mid-race soft tyre strategy in F1 Chinese GP
Alonso: Aston Martin F1 should not apologise for being “too fast” in qualifying
Suzuka sensation redeemed Alonso, but his F1 future is complicated
McLaren "surprised" by China F1 race pace after sprint struggles
Norris: "Nothing pointed" to McLaren's shock China F1 form
How Bruce McLaren's death shaped more than just his F1 team
Erik Jones sidelined with compression fracture after Talladega crash
Alpine confident for 'good news' in Habsburg injury recovery
Ferrari "made too many mistakes" for podium fight at F1 Chinese GP
What is a wildcard in MotoGP and why is it used?
Did F1's new sprint format work?
Chinese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2024
Why Verstappen's China F1 win was a sideshow to the real battle
How the pursuit of marginal F1 gains caused Sauber's pitstop stumbles
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments