Bullish Alonso convinced McLaren making progress

Fernando Alonso remains convinced McLaren is making progress despite a disappointing Canadian Grand Prix.

McLaren scored its first points in Monaco but followed that result up with a double retirement in Canada despite an updated power unit. While Alonso admits his frustration at the reliability issues Honda is facing, he says there were still signs of improvement which motivates the team.

“Montreal was a difficult race for the whole team – we expected it to be tough because of the nature of the circuit, but obviously a double retirement was especially disappointing," Alonso said. "But, of course, just because a weekend doesn’t go to plan, it doesn’t mean we give up.

“We’re still seeing great progress every weekend, and we hope Austria will be the same. Our most important focus is reliability, so that we can get the most time on track in order to make the biggest improvements we can. This is a very physical circuit with four long, fast straights and heavy braking in the corners, so it’ll be challenging for our package, but it’s a really interesting track to race on."

And Alonso says his sole target this weekend is to be able to fight with some other cars during the race, having taken a similar approach in Canada.

“Spielberg is a beautiful location for a grand prix and going back there last year after an 11-year break was a great experience. It’s still the great circuit it was, and there are quite a few overtaking opportunities which make it even more enjoyable. We’ve already put the last race behind us and I’m keen to get out there, race hard with our nearest competitors, and hopefully have some fun.”

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