Brown and Alonso reject critics, insist McLaren is on the right path

Amid rumors of revolt at Woking following the team's persistent under-performance, both Zak Brown and Fernando Alonso insist McLaren is on the right track.

Reports emerged last week that a group of McLaren employees had reached out to Martin Whitmarsh, urging the former McLaren team principal to help with the outfit's predicament.

Whitmarsh was critical of McLaren's leadership, calling into question the competence of racing director Eric Boullier and the broad vision of executive manager Zak Brown.

Alonso however is calling for patience, asserting that his team is in a transition year.

"We have improved compared to last year," said the two-time world champion while attending the Lions Festival in Cannes this week.

"We are not yet able to win the world championship, but we want to join the race for victories as soon as possible. I believe this year is a transition year for us but we are moving in the right direction."

• 'Ill-informed' Whitmarsh gets flak from McLaren

Alonso rejected the notion that even before the disastrous Honda period and now in the wake of it, McLaren has been in an obvious decline.

"The decision to stop the cooperation with Honda was right, although it is clear that it was not easy for the team to accept," he said.

"The transition to Renault engines has been successful, as we are fighting for higher positions and earning points in almost every race, but it takes time for the cooperation to become truly fruitful."

Zak Brown also defended McLaren despite its current state of affairs.

"In sports there are no guarantees that you will win all the time, but I believe that McLaren is a very powerful brand, we have a rich heritage, and we will be able to overcome all our difficulties," he said.

"The operation of the team is gradually improving, but we do want the pace of improvement to be faster."

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