Alonso encouraged by Red Bull performance

Fernando Alonso has revealed that McLaren are quietly encouraged by Red Bull's win in China on Sunday due to the fact that the two teams share a power unit provided by Renault, but did suggest that McLaren had plenty of room for improvement.

The Spaniard has already bettered his points performance from the 2017 season and has claimed points finishes in all three of the opening Grand Prix races in Australia, Bahrain, and China.

The past three previous years have been problematic for Alonso and McLaren, with their lack of success being attributed to a disappointing Honda power unit. However, they are now using Renault engines which is exactly what Daniel Ricciardo used to power Red Bull to victory in China on Sunday, and Alonso reckons that McLaren can take confidence from that win.

"It showed us the potential of the power unit and it gives us good motivation that with this power unit we will be able to fight if we do a good job on the chassis side," Alonso said.

"We are not quite there yet. We need to close that gap and we need to work harder on the chassis side.

"We know that we have to improve, no doubts. We can't hide that. But at the same time we are doing our job on Sundays and scoring as many points as possible for the team."

Even though McLaren have enjoyed a positive start to the campaign, they have yet to make it into Q3 in an of the Grand Prix weekends so there is definitely scope for improvement. Alonso has identified this and pace on the straights for McLaren to get better.

"I think after now, three races, we more or less identified some of our problems," the two-time world champion continued.

"We seem a little bit slow on the straights compared to the main competitors, so I think there is potential to develop the car in that direction and gain some free lap time. So let's hope to see some results."