Fernando Alonso did not hide his enthusiasm during McLaren’s winter preparation. 2018 will be the team’s first season with Renault power units. The pre-season tests were not very conclusive as there were quite a lot of problems.
Alonso though was sure MCL33 has potential
“Finally, time to go racing! This isn’t my first time racing this year of course – I’ve already done a 24-hour race in Daytona and have a very busy season ahead of me – but I’m really excited about getting behind the wheel of the MCL33 for the first grand prix of the year”, the Spaniard said.
“Our car showed a lot of potential in winter testing and, although we know we still have a lot to work on, we’ve already learned a lot about the package and how all the new elements to this year’s car work together. Australia is its first real test, and we need to work hard all weekend to bring all the ingredients together.”
“Nobody can ever predict how other teams will perform at the first race of the season and that all contribute to the excitement. Melbourne is a great track and, after what feels like a long winter, I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do.”
Let’s fly ?
#europe #australia pic.twitter.com/ejLQlYwxSJ— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) March 19, 2018
Stoffel Vandoorne added that Melbourne is a really cool season opener
“The first race coincides with my birthday, and I’ve got great memories from last year as it was my first grand prix for the team as a race driver. Now that I’ve got my first full season under my belt, I’m heading to Australia feeling confident, relaxed and refreshed, and I can’t wait to go racing again”, the Belgian driver continued.
“I’ve been working hard all winter on my training and spending a lot of time with the engineers back at the factory to prepare for this year. Although the regulations have stayed relatively stable, there’s still a lot to learn and our package, in particular, is very different from last year. It’ll also be interesting to see both the drivers’ and fans’ reactions to the very first grand prix with the Halo.”
“I’m really excited – it’s the start of a new challenge for all of us. I’m keen to maximise all the track time we have on Friday to work on set-up to suit the circuit conditions and prep for the weekend ahead. We won’t be getting carried away as we don’t yet know for sure where we stand compared to the other teams, but now the winter is over we all can’t wait to get started with F1 2018.”
Gearing up for #AusGP! #Oz #SV2 #McLaren pic.twitter.com/7LOBmHCcdw
— Stoffel Vandoorne (@svandoorne) March 19, 2018
Racing director Eric Boullier pointed out that 2018 is a new chapter for McLaren
“With the many developments within our team over the past six months or so, it brings me great excitement and pride to see everything coming together and the new McLaren Renault MCL33 hitting the track in Melbourne. We didn’t have the reliability we had hoped for in winter testing, but all the issues we faced have since been addressed back at the factory. There’s a huge amount of work going on behind the scenes to ensure we leave no stone unturned in our quest to extract the maximum pace we can from our new package from the first race”, Boullier commented.
“Melbourne is a venue that the whole team loves going back to, to kick off the new season. It’s a vibrant city, the fans are incredibly enthusiastic and there’s that palpable ‘back-to-school’ feeling of anticipation, where nobody really knows the form book until the lights go out on Sunday. We’re not expecting miracles to be worked overnight – far from it – but what we do know is that we’ll give it our all this weekend.”
Melbourne, it’s good to be back in town. ??? #AusGP pic.twitter.com/mQWclnnqRk
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) March 20, 2018
