Alonso puts Red Bull in McLaren's line of sight

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Fernando Alonso believes McLaren's fifth-place finish in Australia was just a warm-up act as the team ramps up its speed and performance.

The Spaniard was the first to admit that McLaren got lucky on Sunday, benefiting from the retirement of both Haas drivers as well from the timing of the VSC which enabled Alonso to overtake Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Nevertheless, the two-time world champion was buoyed by his MCL33's level of performance which he claims was better in race-trim than in qualifying.

Looking ahead, Alonso is confident scheduled improvements and updates will have him snapping at the heels of Red Bull's Renault-powered racers.

Alonso proud, but expects a lot more to come from McLaren

"I think our race pace was more or less what we had expected, we're faster in race pace than in qualifying, but as of today we cannot get everything out of the car because we're still lacking some parts," said Alonso.

"I believe we are at the lowest point of our curve, there's a lot of things we really have to improve, we need to bring the updates for the next couple of races to be close to Red Bull as soon as possible.''

McLaren's ongoing resurgence has finally put its drivers back in attack mode, contends Alonso.

"As I said yesterday, this year we can defend our position, we can attack, so it's a different kind of racing for us.

"I'm happy, it was a good start, as I said yesterday we have a lot of potential to get out of the car, I hope we can extract it all and hopefully in the next few races we can fight higher up the field."

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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.