Fernando Alonso has described McLaren as “100 per cent” ready to tackle this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, and praised its “amazing” effort in addressing its pre-season testing issues.
Alonso is entering his fourth season with McLaren since he re-joined the team in 2015, and the first without Honda power, after McLaren halted its partnership to take up a supply of Renault engines.
McLaren completed the fewest mileage of the 10 teams in attendance at pre-season testing in Spain, with its MCL33 compromised by a sequence of issues that the operation insisted were minor.
Racing Director Eric Boullier revealed earlier this week that the problems have been “addressed”, and Alonso praised the squad’s turnaround as it bids to climb up the pecking order this year.
“I think we should be optimistic,” Alonso told Reuters ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.
“I think we had some reliability issues in testing but all of them are fixed now.
“The team did an amazing job in the past two or three weeks to have the car 100 per cent for Australia.
“I think being in the points, being close to the top five, I think that will be the best thing we can do to start the season.”
On McLaren’s ambitions for the new campaign, Alonso commented: “I think the top four is definitely a target for us.
“We know that Mercedes is a little bit ahead of everyone and is dominating the sport for the last four years.
“And they are the big favourites again to start the new season. But then we have Red Bull, we have Ferrari and definitely McLaren has to the next team on that order.”
Alonso has not reached the chequered flag at the Australian Grand Prix since his final year with Ferrari in 2014.
Alonso missed the 2015 event due to his pre-season accident, spectacularly barrel-rolled out of the 2016 race, and retired last season due to floor damage.
