Expectations of McLaren F1 fans are unrealistic according to Fernando Alonso
While McLaren's performance is much better than in previous years, it still falls short of fans' expectations. According to Fernando Alonso, these expectations are unrealistic.
After three seasons equipped with a Honda engine, the Woking team developed a new partnership with Renault in 2018, creating the new McLaren-Renault association. While McLaren managed to score points with both cars in the first two races of the season, the pace is far from those shown by Mercedes, Ferrari, or even Red Bull, which shares the same engine. This is also the opinion of Eric Boullier, who, after the Bahrain Grand Prix, stated that the start of the season is definitely more complicated than expected.
However, Fernando Alonso believes that given the problems encountered by the team over the past three years, expecting better performances was not realistic. « I don’t know what people expected from us exactly, especially since there hasn’t been a change in regulations between the two seasons. » Indeed, the basis of the 2018 regulations is identical to that of 2017, as seen with the leading teams, still well ahead. But the double world champion remains pragmatic: « Last year, we had no points in three races. Stoffel [Vandoorne] couldn’t even start in Bahrain. This year, we have had four cars finish in two races, with a third place in the Constructors’ Championship. »
« If we look at the facts, it’s a very good start to the season ». But a start to the season greatly helped by the setbacks accumulated by the team’s rivals, and by perfect reliability on Woking’s side. « We haven’t had any mechanical or organizational problems, and I think we’re the only team in this situation » said the Spaniard. It is true that all the top teams, Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, but also Haas have faced penalties or retirements for various reasons, allowing the papaya cars to finish higher in the standings. Fernando Alonso reminds us that although the team is well placed, « everything can change very quickly, but until now, the start of the season is very positive. »
Remains to be seen if McLaren can maintain this pace, and especially uphold the reliability it has demonstrated at the start of the year, which earns it valuable points against its direct rivals when pure performance is slightly lacking.
