OCTOBER 7, 2018

McLaren has same car from 2017 says Alonso

McLaren has not developed its car since the opening few races of the season.

Fernando Alonso, Japanese GP 2018
© RV Press

McLaren has not developed its car since the opening few races of the season.

That is the news from both of the struggling British team's drivers.

"We have not had improvements since Spain," said Fernando Alonso.

"We can see in photos and on the track that the rest of the teams in the middle zone bring things race to race and we do not," he added.

"So the problem is not whether it's the same car from Sochi or not. Actually, we have the same car from last year -- from 12 months ago," said Alonso.

So the Spaniard said he is actually prioritising his world endurance championship duties at present, because: "In one world championship I'm trying to help the team to be sixth, in the other I am fighting to be world champion.

"There's no doubt where my goal is."

It's a similar story for his teammate Stoffel Vandoorne, who has lost his seat for 2019.

"We did not really develop the car from Barcelona. Until then, we were still a little competitive. It's no surprise that we have not made progress," he said.

(GMM)