Upon the unveiling of the new McLaren-Honda MP4-31, Fernando Alonso says he is “raring to go” and eager to bounce back from a “tricky” 2015 Formula One campaign.
The Spaniard returned to Woking last winter in the hope of winning the third world title he has been seeking for a decade, but his progress was continually hampered by McLaren-Honda’s reliability and performance woes.
Although Alonso managed to secure his team’s best result with fifth in Hungary, the double world champion (2005-06) had to settle for a lowly 17th-place in the final Drivers’ standings. As he gears up for his 15th season in the top flight, the 34-year-old is confident McLaren-Honda has learned from its annus horribilis.
“The start of a new season is always a special feeling, characterised by a lot of anticipation for the year ahead,” Alonso said. “This year is no different: I’m excited and raring to go.”
“Last year the spotlight was very much on McLaren-Honda as we embarked on the first year of our renewed partnership. It was a tricky season for all of us, but we learned a hell of a lot.”
The ex-Ferrari star aired out his frustration on a couple of occasions last season, which led to rumours about his taking a sabbatical in 2016. Having swiftly dismissed the allegations, Alonso explains that he and the team have pushed hard all off-season to come back much stronger this year.
“Likewise, it’s been a very productive winter for me. I’ve been training extremely hard, as usual, but also enjoying time with my family, and keeping tabs on all the hard work going on at the McLaren Technology Centre, Woking, where the McLaren guys have been doing an incredible job to get everything ready in time. The Honda boys have been working flat-out in Sakura, too.
“The aero package shows fantastic attention to detail. The whole car is beautiful in fact – it’s particularly nicely packaged from an aerodynamic point of view as I say – and I’m 100 per cent ready for the challenge ahead.”
Alonso currently has 32 grand prix wins, 97 podiums, and 22 pole positions to his name.
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