“
McLaren had a very, very tough season last year – maybe even more tough for Ron Dennis – and after [Fernando] Alonso's departure they were a bit disrupted and it's difficult to motivate yourself. Obviously they want to have revenge – which is understandable – and they deserve to have this revenge, but
Formula 1 is so difficult that you need to have everything perfect and everyone working in the right place at the right moment. Maybe McLaren haven't been fantastic at the beginning of the year, but they're still in the competition which is important.
“They want to win again and they deserve to win again to be honest, after what happened last year. After Alonso's departure for Renault they may have lost a little bit in terms of experience from one of the drivers, but Lewis [Hamilton] is definitely a top driver too.
“He is feeling the pressure more this year – after Fernando left he was supposed to be the favourite for the championship. It's going to stabilise over the next few races, and if Lewis can get some big points or wins then we can hope that McLaren will be back to fight for the title.”
The 51-time grand prix winner was more circumspect, however, when discussing the chances of both BMW-Sauber and
Renault. The former have enjoyed a superb start to the season, even leading the constructors' world standings after Bahrain, courtesy of three podiums, a pole position, a fastest lap and six points' finishes from eight starts for
Nick Heidfeld and
Robert Kubica. The latter, meanwhile, displayed a markčd upturn in form at Barcelona last time out, though Prost – a former Renault driver himself – is not convinced Alonso's performance in Spain was entirely representative of the true picture.
“I would like to wait until the Turkish Grand Prix,” the 53-year-old insisted, “because Alonso was on a three-stop strategy in Barcelona, and before he got to that stage he had the problem with his engine. I don't know how much of their new competitiveness was due to that strategy, and how much the car was better.
