F1 | McLaren, Alonso: “Incredible result after a fairly difficult winter”

Fifth and ninth position for Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne in the Australian Grand Prix, the inaugural event of the 2018 Formula One World Championship. After a rather complicated qualification, the Spaniard managed to confirm the excellent potential of the MCL33, going up to the fifth square. The standard bearer of the Woking team was certainly helped by the double withdrawal of the Haas, but in general the performance convinced the English team, who trusts in Renault updates to get closer to the top of the rankings.

Here are the words of Fernando Alonso: “It was a good race today, especially considering the initial starting position. The last two years have been difficult and I honestly think that winter wasn't easy either. We switched to the Renault engine quite late and the team had to react very quickly to redesign some parts in the rear area.

“At the end of the race, however, I look at the standings and see both cars in the points, including one in the top five. We are proud of all this and we are sure we can still improve. We didn't make the most of the car's potential and we are convinced that there is much more to this MCL33. This is only our first race together with Renault and some updates will come in the next races. We can start looking ahead, setting Red Bull as our goal." he added.

Here are the words of Stoffel Vandoorne: "It is a great result for the team to have both cars in the points. It's a big difference from last year and I think there's huge potential for the future. For my part I was a little unlucky with the Virtual Safety Car, because I think we could have finished even higher, but for the opening race I think we can be very happy. I'm very optimistic about the rest of the year. We know there is more to our car and that the partnership with Renault is still young. This was our first race and we know that there will be new parts for future Grands Prix, which is why we look to the future with optimism. The base is good and we must continue on this guideline."

Roberto Valenti