23-02-2018, 12:55
(23-02-2018, 12:46)German Sanchez escribió: http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12479/1...or-mclaren
Fernando Alonso says F1 2018 is 'important moment' for McLaren
Alonso completes first laps in MCL33 in Spain; McLaren revert to the colour scheme of their formative years
By Jonathan Green
Last Updated: 23/02/18 10:40am
Following the launch of this year's MCL33, McLaren's Fernando Alonso is optimistic about the 2018 season
Fernando Alonso has declared "the good times are coming" again for McLaren following the launch of their first car with Renault power.
McLaren's 2018 challenger, the MCL33, was unveiled in Spain on Friday and the team hope the switch from Honda to Renault engines will help propel them back up the F1 grid.
The 20-time world champions have not won a grand prix since the 2012 Brazilian GP, while the season-opening Australian GP on March 25 will mark four years since their last podium finish.
McLaren were widely regarded to have one of the best chassis in 2017 and have made subtle evolutions for their 2018 car and Alonso is optimistic the team will be competitive again with Renault power, which won three races last season.
McLaren reveal new car and new look
Watch: McLaren launch the MCL33
"The good times are coming," Alonso told Sky Sports F1 after his first run in the MCL33.
"It's an important moment for McLaren. After a couple of years of not fighting for the championship, it's time to come back to that position."
He added: "Now in winter testing we need to make sure we optimise this package but so far I'm very happy and very optimistic, I think the team did an amazing job the last couple of months.
"We have hard work to do now because with the Renault power unit, our biggest change this year from Honda, we had to make some changes in the car, some compromises in the rear end of the car so first we need to put the car on the track. We need to test it, we need to make sure we optimise the package and after that we will see how fast we can be.
"Definitely for McLaren and the amount of jobs that everyone did on this car, trying to fight for podiums and race victories, that will be our aim."
McLaren unveiled their 2018 challenger on Friday and Sky F1's Simon Lazenby was there to speak to the drivers and team bosses
Alonso won his two world championships with Renault in 2005 and 2006 and re-joined McLaren in 2015 with the aim of adding a third title.
His best finish since returning to Woking has been three fifth-place finishes but he hopes the MCL33 will enable him to mount a title fight, although concedes current champions Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton start the season as favourites.
"It's difficult to say right now because nobody knows where everyone is. I hope McLaren will be in the fight," Alonso said when asked how the 2018 championship battle may pan out.
"If it's not us then probably Mercedes and Hamilton because they are the world champions right now. They have to start as favourites, they will be the team to beat but hopefully McLaren can be right there."
Vandoorne hoping to reach new level
Alonso will once again be partnered by Stoffel Vandoorne in 2018 as the Belgian embarks on his second full season in Formula 1.
Vandoorne suffered a baptism of fire in his debut campaign given the unreliability and underperformance of the Honda power unit, but the 25-year-old believes he can reach a new level in this season with a year's experience under his belt.
"I don't think last year was very meaningful for both of us. I think we expected much more from the season last year and with the changes this year we will aim to be scoring a lot more points. We will see how the season kicks off and hopefully it will be a very successful one," Vandoorne said.
"At the end of last season we were very close together. I was out-qualifying him, he was out-qualifying me and I think it was very good for the team spirit as well having both drivers on a similar level to push the team that extra step. A year on with a bit more experience I definitely think I can take it to another level so I'm looking forward to this season."
F1 in 2018: The new cars revealed
Me quedo con esta frase de Fernando tras sus primeras impresiones (Gracias Germán):
"It's an important moment for McLaren. After a couple of years of not fighting for the championship, it's time to come back to that position."