Fernando Alonso blamed the nightmare McLaren’s tests directly on Honda. The two-time Formula 1 world champion is obviously frustrated with the lack of speed and the constant problems.
“The chassis side is difficult because we are not pushing the speed as the others are doing because of the lack of power. So the chassis everything feels good, everything feels under control. The car is responding well to changes and everything is working fine. I am happy with the balance, I am happy how to attack the corner. I am happy driving this car. I don’t think that we are too far back in terms of chassis side”, Alonso explained.
“We have only one problem, that is the power unit. There is no reliability and there is no power. I think we are 30kph down in the straight, every straight. When you are 30kph down in every straight it’s difficult also to have a feeling on the car. Everything feels good but when you arrive to normal speed you don’t know what is going to happen.”
Asked if Honda would not be able to react accordingly to the situation because of lack of time, Fernando Alonso answered:
“This is probably more of a question for Honda. I have a lot of time. As I said I’m enjoying, I prepared myself better than ever.”
“I feel really strong driving this year with these cars. I can do also my driving style, my quick input on the steering wheel on entries like in the old days. So I’m really enjoying, I feel very strong, I’m feeling the strongest here. But I don’t have the power. I have a lot of time.”
He still insisted McLaren is improving every day bit by bit:
“I think every lap we do there is a lot of information coming to the team and improving the situation slowly.”
“But when you do more laps, you discover other things. As we do 40 laps every day we are like in day two of testing for everyone else. We are discovering those little things. But nothing to worry for Australia I guess. The team will be fully ready to compete in a good level. The only question mark is how much power we will have. It’s a question for Honda where they are lacking power. I’m not an engineer or engine designer. I don’t think it is a deployment issue because there are many straights here so in one straight or in the other you deploy until the braking point and you lose 30, 40 kph in every straight.”
The Spaniard also said that the situation is not hurting him personally:
“I’m going always anti-clockwise. The people go pessimistic, I go optimistic. The people is over-excited, I’m getting worried. So I feel confident that this year we will be competitive. I don’t know at which point of the year but we will be competitive and I want to win races, I want to be in the podium. And if everything goes in the wrong direction I will attack next year.”
“It brings me more motivation to continue and to win because I will not stop racing without a good feeling and a good result that I think I deserve.”
“If one day I feel in the car people I see on the corners that they do fantastic lines, they brake later than me, they accelerate earlier than me, they do better starts than me, that day I will stop and say ‘it’s time’. What I’m seeing now is completely the opposite.”
“More than ever, this year, this winter, what I see on the track, what I see in myself it’s at the best level. Now it’s time to attack.”
On the question is he able to take turn three flat out, the answer was:
“Oh yeah. For us not only turn three. For us maybe all the corners are flat.”
