Alonso glad to see McLaren changes paying off

Fernando Alonso says he is glad to see the changes made at McLaren over the past year start to pay off following the team’s strong start to the Formula 1 season.

McLaren impressed in Bahrain last weekend by getting both of its cars through to Q3 before Lando Norris finished the race in sixth place, a result only beaten by Alonso in the past four seasons for the team.

Now retired from F1, Alonso returned to the wheel of a McLaren this week in Bahrain when he took part in testing to sample the team’s 2019 car. The two-time world champion was impressed by what he found, calling the car "a step forward".

McLaren has undergone a number of management and personnel changes over the past 12 months, and Alonso is pleased to see they are starting to pay off.  

“I think we’ve been working a lot for four or five years in the team, and we probably never had the momentum, or never had the continuity or progress,” Alonso said.

“We saw some good signs. After Bahrain last year, I was third or fourth in the championship. We had a good start and some good moments, but never the continuation through the year.

“I think this year, there is a good baseline and good programme of development, and I think it’s going to be a much better season. I’m happy.

“Last year, it was a good start, but then we stopped the development probably in May or June, so that was painful until Abu Dhabi.

“I knew that it was my final season as well, so to run with the same car from Barcelona to Abu Dhabi was painful.”

McLaren was boosted by the arrival of new technical director James Key in Bahrain after striking an agreement with Toro Rosso to complete his move across early.

The team will also welcome former Porsche LMP1 chief Andreas Seidl into the role of F1 managing director on May 1.