Alonso: 'I really don't care where we are!'

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Where McLaren-Honda currently lies in Formula 1's pecking order is of no interest to Fernando Alonso, as the Spaniard is only interested if fighting for a spot in the top five.

Between its two cars, McLaren succeeded in putting in 84 laps in Friday's free practice sessions, with Alonso ending the day down in 12th position.

"We had some issues but in terms of the experience we had in winter testing, we have less issues than Barcelona so we were able to run a little bit more in FP1 and FP2," Alonso explained.

"Thanks to that we extracted a little bit of the potential of the car because obviously you are testing new things every time you go out.

"So positive from that aspect but definitely there is more to come and we need to keep working as we're still far away in terms of lap time."

Hamilton enjoys Friday clean sweep!

When it was suggested that the team's relative performance appeared encouraging, with McLaren perhaps fighting for a spot in the mid-field, Alonso responded with indifference.

"I really don't care," said the McLaren driver.

"I don't care about the order, I don't care who is in the middle pack. We want to be world champions, we want to be on podiums, we want to win races and we are quite far behind.

"If we are 13th, if we are seventh, we are ninth, and there is a Renault in front of a Force India… I don't care too much."

Oddly, Alonso also took issue with how the media has depicted Honda's problems, although he was the first to take aim at the manufacture's weaknesses. Still, problems have been exaggerated according to the two-time world champion.

"From the Barcelona test until we put the car on track today the problems have been exaggerated, especially from the outside, because it's very juicy to say that McLaren-Honda would be last, that it would not run, that the odds were high both our cars would retire on the opening lap, and all those silly things that keep coming up every day.

"But when you are on track, you try to do your job. Teams try to improve every day and every week and hopefully we have found a bit more reliability that helps us extract more potential."

GALLERY: all the pics from Friday's action

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.