McLaren could be 'very, very competitive' - Alonso

Fernando Alonso insists that McLaren could be 'very, very competitive' for the constructor's championship in the 2018 season now that they have switched to Renault engines after three seasons using unreliable Honda parts, with the partnership with the Japanese manufacturer now terminated.

Alonso has not won the title for over a decade now, while McLaren are also in a barren period in terms of on-track success.

The Spaniard thinks that the period with Honda can be quickly put in the past, and believes McLaren can once again become competitive for podium finishes and potentially Grand Prix wins.

“Hopefully the last three years will be forgotten very quickly,” Alonso told ESPN.

“It’s a completely different game for us. We believe that we could be very, very competitive with a Renault power unit next year.

“All the preparations of the new car, it is looking much, much [more] promising than before. Our hopes for next year are very high.

“Definitely the mood of the team is completely different.”

The former F1 world champion is currently in Daytona preparing for the Rolex 24 Hours race, and he believes the competitive nature of this race will provide good preparation for the upcoming Formula One season.

“It’s a way of preparing yourself,” he continued.

“I’m used to spending January and February preparing physically for the season, doing training camps … training the neck with weights, with elastics.

“Now I have the opportunity to train those muscles and to get into the racing spirit in the car and racing some of the best racers in the world. It’s a nice preparation and nice warm-up of the season in F1.”