Alonso says 'consistent results' focus than 'fastest car' in 2018

Alonso says 'consistent results' focus than 'fastest car' in 2018

Fernando Alonso believes the aim for McLaren this season should be to push for consistent results than to build a faster car which Mercedes already has. The two-time Formula 1 champion is focused on winning a strategic battle than go all out on pace.

The Woking-based squad is recovering from a lull in performance for the past few years, especially in the three seasons with Honda. Upon its debut with Renault in the Australian Grand Prix, the team scored double points with Alonso in fifth and Stoffel Vandoorne in ninth.

The Spaniard even managed to hold off Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen for 28 laps on a difficult circuit to overtake. Even though it created a train of cars, but the positive aspect for McLaren was that it was able to compete with the midfield teams.

With Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull already having the pace advantage, Alonso feels it is better to build a consistent car which will help to score regular points in the battle for fourth. "It is going to be tough," he said, when asked how they are to build on through the year.

"But I think it is a long season with 21 races. We scored good points [in Australia]. We need to upgrade. [In fact] to catch the top guys, we will need to do something special and use clever ideas because they have that gap that will be difficult to close.

"At the same time we need to be consistent, we need to score points every race and I remember in 2008 with the ING Renault car in the second part of the season I scored more points than the world champion [Lewis Hamilton].

"It was the same in 2009 with Kimi [Raikkonen] in the second half of the season. [He had] a better run than Jenson [Button] who won the championship that year. So, yes you need the fastest car out there, at the same time you need a consistent car and consistent results.

"So, I think we will go for the second [option] because the fastest car is clear that the Mercedes will have the edge on everyone. It was a positive start [for us in 2018]. We had some difficulties in winter testing.

"We had a late integration on the Renault power unit, we had to redesign some of the parts and it was a last minute call for the power unit change and now here in Australia, [we have] both cars in points, so definitely happy and proud of the work done from the team," he added.

Even though Alonso pointed that he scored more points in 2008, but it was Hamilton who had 60 points in the 10 races to Alonso's 51. He did score two points more than season's runner-up, Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

For Raikkonen, he was right that the Finn scored more than Button in 2009. He had 38 in all to 27 by the British driver. Nevertheless, looking at the 2018 season, if reliability bodes well for McLaren, there is every chance it can claim a Top 5 finish in the constructors' standings.

Before the weekend, Alonso stressed that the British outfit will improve as the season progresses with several upgrades lined-up. In addition, he feels the chassis will come alive once the team is 100 percent confident with the power unit integration with the MCL33.

from SportsFlashes.com https://ift.tt/2G9VPzt