Alain Prost believes that McLaren must react as early as Hockenheim

Like Jenson Button, who scored as many points in the last eight races as he did during his victory in Australia for the season-opening Grand Prix, the McLaren-Mercedes team is currently on a downward slope after a solid start to the season. After losing the top spot in the constructors’ standings in Bahrain, the Woking team plummeted two places following the British Grand Prix, which saw Ferrari and Lotus overtake them.

If McLaren is only ten points away from second place, they are nevertheless 74 units behind Red Bull, and for many observers, the German Grand Prix could already prove decisive for the British team: « It seems that McLaren has lost some ground for various reasons, and apparently, they seem not to understand what’s happening with the new tires: these are not good news, » confides Alain Prost in an interview with R-Sport during his visit to Moscow this weekend for the inauguration of the Moscow Raceway. « At the beginning of the season, I really thought they would be the favorites because they started off quite well, but they have lost ground, and it’s very difficult to understand. If they do not react immediately, in Hockenheim for the next race, I think it will be tough. Ahead, Red Bull and Ferrari are very motivated, and it looks challenging. »

For the 2012 title, Alain Prost thinks that it could be contested between Ferrari and Red Bull, but for him, the Austrian team remains the favorite: « Red Bull, for sure, they will be there until the end of the championship, and it will be very competitive. Alonso and Ferrari were a big surprise for me because I couldn’t imagine they could be so competitive, and they have come back quite well. Alonso is really pushing hard, he is number one in the team, and he will get help from Felipe Massa, one might think he will be difficult to beat. But I still think that in the end, it will be the Red Bull team that will win the championship. »