Alonso hoping 'to pull the whole package together' in Shanghai

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Fernando Alonso says consistency will be the key for McLaren next weekend in China, with the Spaniard aiming to improve his team's overall performance, especially in qualifying.

Despite a collection of points for both its drivers in Australia and in Bahrain, it hasn't exactly been the start of 2018 that McLaren was hoping for.

The Woking-based outfit has been a mid-field contender on Sundays but the team's depressed performance in qualifying in Bahrain didn't make Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne's task easier on race day.

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"For us, consistency has to be the key," says Alonso before China.

"We’ve been able to pull everything together on a Sunday so far – a combination of both hard work and good fortune – but we haven’t given ourselves the best chances on Saturday, so it’s important we pull the whole package together.

"It won’t happen overnight, but we know where our issues lie and we know that we need to work hard to overcome them as soon as possible.

"In the meantime, we’ll be pushing hard in China, as always, and continue our fight to the front of the midfield pack."

Boullier echoed his driver's view on the need for better consistency overall.

"Our results are solid but haven’t come easily, and we are by no means satisfied with our progress so far," says the Frenchman.
"We know there’s a lot of work to do and we’re working hard, day and night, to bring more performance to the car each time we hit the track.

"Our biggest deficit is our qualifying performance and addressing this is our priority.

"The Shanghai International Circuit is a very different challenge again to Melbourne and Bahrain.

"The long straight, high top speeds and the low and medium-speed corners mean it has a bit of
everything, so our objective is to get on top of the circuit’s characteristics from Friday onwards."

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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.