The Belgian and Italian Grand prix will be difficult for McLaren but the team is pleased with its progress in 2016, claimed Fernando Alonso at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
„If you look at the team 12 months ago we were in a very different situation. We were starting last here using I think the ninth engine we put in Spa. We’ve been lapped two times here last year and in Germany and Hungary. Definitely we make a step of nearly minutes, so definitely we are in a much better position.”
“We are enjoying and definitely the progress is very optimistic”
“I think even for next year as well. We are looking forward to this weekend. We have some updates also on the car. We know that Spa and Monza will be tricky races for us in terms of layout and characteristics of the circuits. But definitely we are enjoying our time now, seeing all this progress and hungry for more”, Alonso said.
The Spanish driver’s contract with the Woking team expires next year. For a couple of months now he commented that he could leave Formula 1 if the cars are not exciting enough even after the rules’ changes.
“Well, I think I said, sometimes already that next year I finish my contract with McLaren. I will have to make a decision if I continue in Formula One or not”, Alonso repeated.
“I think in the last couple of years, especially with this turbo engine era, the car is a little bit different to drive.”
“I don’t say that it’s better or worse, everyone will have his opinion. I’ve been lucky enough to drive 2003 cars, 2004, 2005, even until 2009 the cars were more extreme, more Formula One cars. So now when I see GP2 running three seconds away, or something like that in FP1 it feels a little bit sad. Cars are heavy. No grip. We save fuel, we save tyres, we save everything from lap one. It’s a little bit against the instinct of the driver and next year is a big question mark.”
“I think with the new regs everything will change a little bit. If the cars are fun to drive, are exciting to drive, I will probably stay longer and drive for more years in Formula One. But if they are still giving me the feeling that I have in the last couple of years, probably I will stop.”
“But it’s not related to whether you are competitive or not. If you are out in Q1 or winning a championship. It’s just you are enjoying driving the cars or you are not enjoying. Right now, in my opinion, the cars are not enjoyable. Probably because I drove other cars. If you arrive now to Formula One, these cars are very fast and very fun to drive – but not for me anymore.”
