Red Bull win puts pressure on McLaren for 2018 - Alonso
Fernando Alonso says Max Verstappen's victory in last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix puts the pressure on McLaren to build a car capable of winning races with Renault power in 2018.
Formula 1 2018
The 2018 Formula 1 World Championship is the 69th season of the world’s leading open-wheel single-seater series. Sanctioned by the sport’s governing body, the FIA, its 10 teams and 20 drivers will compete in 21 Grands Prix around the world, beginning in Australia on March 25 and ending in Abu Dhabi on November 25. <p>The French Grand Prix, at Circuit Paul Ricard, returns to the calendar for the first time since 2008. The German Grand Prix, at Hockenheim, reappears after a one-year absence. The Malaysian Grand Prix, run since 1999 at Sepang, has dropped off the 2018 calendar.</p> <p>The main technical change for the new season is the adoption of the Halo cockpit protection system to all cars.</p>
McLaren has consistently said that it believes it has one of the best chassis on the Formula 1 grid, but has had no points of reference as the only user of Honda power units since 2015.
However, following its switch to Renault engines for 2018, the Woking team will have two key benchmarks next year, in the form of both Red Bull and the works Renault team.
While encouraged by the dominant style in which Verstappen won at Sepang, Alonso admitted the Dutchman's success means McLaren will have no excuses for not winning next year.
“We saw in Monza a very good performance from Red Bull, which is a power circuit,” said the Spanish driver. “We were already quite happy with that Red Bull performance.
"Malaysia was another step forward, they beat the Mercedes without rain, without any different strategy, without anything. So that was good.
“But that at the same point put some pressure on McLaren, that car I think is quite efficient right now, and is quite powerful on the chassis side, that Red Bull.
"We need to make sure that we do our job on the chassis side, because the engine can deliver wins, as Red Bull proves.
"We need to match that performance on the chassis, and that is a challenge for sure.”
Asked if it was realistic to expect the team to challenge Red Bull in 2018, Alonso added: “Yeah, I think so.
"I think that the challenge is, how can McLaren be in front? But McLaren should never be afraid of matching any other team, because McLaren should beat any other team.”
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