An unimpeded run from start to finish is pretty much all McLaren-Honda's Fernando Alonso can hope for next weekend in China.
The Spaniard is well aware of the performance limitations of his mount, which are correlated to Honda's power unit.
Coupled with the fact that Shanghai's layout will only compound his engine's weakness, Alonso is expecting a challenging three days in China
"Australia was a bit of a surprise for us, as we didn’t expect to perform at the level at we did, although on paper, ultimately, the results show the reality.
"We know there’s a lot of work to do and we aren’t delivering what we had aimed for pre-season, but equally we’re pushing hard behind the scenes.
"Despite there being a few fly-aways at the start of the season, we’re still expecting to upgrades at every race, including China."
Imponderables could always throw a spanner into his rivals' works and if that's the case Alonso will do his best to profit, but the two-time world champion isn't setting himself up for disappointment.
"In Shanghai last year everyone had their eye on the tyres as wear is typically high there and we often saw graining, but it’ll be interesting to see how the new compounds perform on this type of track.
"The weather is often unpredictable and temperatures can change a lot over the weekend, so it’s something all the teams have to manage with the balance and set-up of the car.
“Shanghai is a really quirky track – Turn One is actually my favourite corner on the whole calendar – and it provides a good test for the driver with a high average speed compared to the street circuit of Melbourne.
"I’m looking forward to seeing what the new cars are capable of there, and I hope we can at least have a trouble-free race and see where we are when the chequered flag falls.”
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