Fernando Alonso Expects McLaren To Challenge Red Bull In 2018

After Red Bull won the Malaysian Grand Prix with Max Verstappen leading the field, it only served to put pressure on McLaren for next season according to Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard is of course referring to his team switching to Renault power for 2018 and to the fact that McLaren have consistently argued that they have one of F1’s top chassis.

“We saw also in Monza, which is a power circuit, a very good performance from Red Bull. But Malaysia was another step forward, they beat Mercedes without rain, without any different strategy, without anything,” said Alonso, quoted by Autosport.

“We need to make sure that we do our job on the chassis side, because the engine can deliver wins, as Red Bull proves. We need to match that performance on the chassis, and that is a challenge for sure.”

When asked if it was realistic to expect his current team to challenge Red Bull at the beginning of next season, Alonso stated “Yeah, I think so,” while arguing that McLaren, as a team, shouldn’t be afraid of anyone.

McLaren signed its three-year engine supply deal with Renault last month, as former supplier Honda switched to Toro Rosso.