McLaren 'the place to be' - Alonso

Fernando Alonso says McLaren is "the place to be" as they look to muscle in on the fight for honours in Formula 1. McLaren are third in the constructors' standings after two races, with Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne each securing points finishes in the Australian and Bahrain Grands Prix.

Only Mercedes have had both drivers in the points in Melbourne and Sakhir, with McLaren enjoying newfound reliability since swapping Honda power units for Renault.

Qualifying performance remains an issue for McLaren, with Alonso and Vandoorne failing to get into Q3 in both races.

Although his future is uncertain beyond the end of 2018, Alonso spoke glowingly of long-term prospects at McLaren.

"I think there are many things that we will change," Alonso said. "We will become more competitive.

Fernando to pit: “Good job guys. Both cars home, both cars in the points.” #BahrainGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/ILTQUI8DzI — McLaren (@McLarenF1) April 8, 2018

"I think that in the next couple of months, the place to be is McLaren. That is the message for our fans, and the people who support us.

"For me, dreams do not count, facts do. And if you look at them in peace, I realise: we had a good start to the season."

Alonso's former team boss at Renault, Flavio Briatore, has been quoted linking the veteran with seats at Mercedes and Ferrari.

Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen's respective futures at the two top teams are uncertain, but Alonso was quick to brush off any talk of a move.

"Flavio wants the best for me in terms of results," Alonso acknowledged. "In the last two or three years there were three teams ahead of the others, so I understand his comments."