Alonso: Oz crash masked McLaren's 'promising' pace

Fernando Alonso says his McLaren-Honda MP4-31 “felt pretty promising” in the 2016 F1 season opener before the Spaniard was involved in a huge crash with Esteban Gutierrez.

Alonso was fighting on the cusp of the points-paying positions in Australia when he clipped the rear of the Haas, which catapulted him into the wall and then a series of scary rolls.

The double world champion now hopes the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix will enable him and team-mate Jenson Button to show how much progress McLaren-Honda has made over the winter.

“Firstly, I’m very pleased to be heading to [Sakhir] after the crash in Australia,” Alonso said. “I’ve spent some time resting and I can’t wait to get back in the car. Although on paper Melbourne wasn’t a great race for us, before the crash I’d been having some good battles and the car felt pretty promising, so I hope in Bahrain we can experience more of the same.

“In testing and in Melbourne we’ve had good reliability, which proves how hard the team has worked to make our package stronger. There’s also been a massive effort from the teams in Woking and Sakura, who have been flat-out manufacturing parts for this race to ensure we can get back up to speed after the chassis was damaged, and I’m hugely impressed with how quickly they’ve managed to turn it around.”

With Bahrain International Circuit featuring several long straights, McLaren and engine partner Honda experienced one of their toughest 2015 weekends at the Middle Eastern venue. Alonso, who will be given a brand new power unit this weekend, says this makes it a good basis for comparison.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what our package is capable of at what has previously been a pretty challenging circuit for us.

“There are lots of variables to think about and it’s one of the longest races, which usually produces some kind of drama. Hopefully we can enjoy some close racing and keep ourselves out of trouble.

“It’s been a good circuit for me in the past – I’ve had three victories there – and there are quite a few good opportunities to overtake.”

Alonso’s trio of wins (2005 and 2006 with Renault; 2010 for Ferrari) means he is the most successful driver in Sakhir since the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix in 2004.

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