McLaren-Honda F1 victory would be Fernando Alonso's best achievement

Now in his 15th season in F1, Alonso has two world titles, 32 victories, 65 other podiums and 22 poles to his name, but he claims none of that will compare to a win in his second stint at McLaren.

When asked if a McLaren-Honda would be his greatest achievement in F1, Alonso replied: "Yes. The first win with this project will be quite a big thing for any of us.

"I don't know if I will have that chance, if Stoffel [Vandoorne, his team-mate in 2017] will have that chance.

"But when that first win arrives then everyone involved in this project from day one, from being 10 seconds away in winter testing last year, to 5.8s in Australia in the first race last year, it will be a massive achievement, and we will feel very proud.

"To make that real we need to work very hard over the next months, and we need to accelerate the process because in Formula 1 no-one waits forever.

"These things change quickly, new regulations are coming next year so you need to speed up everything in Formula 1 because there is no time to relax."

Although Alonso doubts whether McLaren and Honda will close the gap to Mercedes in time for the start of next season, he is hoping the team will be nearer the front.

"That's a very optimistic target," added Alonso.

"We will improve a lot for next year as we've learned a lot this year, as we did last year, which is normal.

"But this year we've had less reliability problems, and we were able to learn a lot more with the laps we've put together, so I expect a big step for next year in the power unit.

"There is a question mark about the aerodynamics and the interpretation of the rules, so I expect a good opportunity to catch up.

"The hopes for next year will not only be about being in the points, it will be much higher."