‘Alonso still great’, says manager

Fernando Alonso’s manager Luis García Abad insists the double F1 world champion remains a “great driver” and is confident his client can show it at an improved McLaren-Honda this year.

The 34-year-old is still considered among the very best on the current grid with 32 race wins, 97 podiums, and 22 pole positions to his name.

But while the British outfit and Japanese manufacturer experienced a torrid 2015 campaign, Alonso himself admitted that his own performance was subpar and vowed to improve in 2016.

Despite his first spell at McLaren ending in acrimony, the ex-Ferrari star had returned to Woking in the hope of securing that elusive third title he has been coveting for nearly a decade.

“Until we see the new McLaren get launched on February 21, we cannot predict anything but I think this season will be better,” Abad told Spanish-language news agency Europa Press.

[Alonso] is still a great driver and McLaren will do everything in its power to make the car is competitive.”

The Spaniard has repeatedly insisted that he intends to see his three-year McLaren contract though until the end of 2017. However, Giancarlo Minardi, who gave Alonso his F1 debut in 2001, recently declared that Renault is tempting to lure the Spaniard back to the team with which he won the 2005 and ’06 titles.

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