31/01/2017
NEWS STORY
Expecting Honda to make another significant step forward this season, Fernando Alonso fears it is the new aero regulations that could catch McLaren on the back foot.
Though the Woking team has been strong aerodynamically in recent years, the Spaniard feels the rules overhaul - much like the new engine formula in 2014 - could catch some on the hop.
"Let's say that Mercedes, the top power, will be difficult to reach," said the two-time world champion, according to Motorsport.com, "we know that, not for us, but for everyone.
"But I think we can be close enough that we can fight," he continued. "I'm one hundred percent confident we will reach the power that we want to reach... on aerodynamics I think it is more of a question mark.
"When there are new rules you can be lucky or unlucky," he admitted. "It depends on how every team interprets the rules, how the philosophy of the car goes. Maybe you choose to go right and someone in the paddock chooses to go left and you find in race four or five that your package aerodynamically goes to the left because you started wrongly. Hopefully we are one of those who does the job from the beginning."
Despite the improvements of 2016, Alonso continually admitted that in many ways contemporary F1 had lost its 'buzz' for him. This has led to speculation that the Spaniard, should he not feel the McLaren-Honda package is competitive or the new rules not give him back the 'buzz', might yet walk away from the sport.
However, weeks ahead of the Woking outfit's launch, Alonso insists he is feeling confident.
"The motivation last year was just to arrive to the Monday after Abu Dhabi and forget about 2015," he said. "This year is different, the motivation is higher because there are expectations for next year. The rules change which will mix things a little bit, and there is the progress that Honda made this year which I think is very positive and gives me confidence for next year as well.
"I'm really looking forward to Australia in March. Last year it was 'OK, hopefully in Australia everything will change', but there are so many things that had to change that you have hope, but it's a big hope. This year we just have to fix a few things so the hope is more real. You are more motivated because of that."