Alonso: McLaren can target top three ‘very soon’

Fernando Alonso has claimed McLaren will be able to fight in races with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull “very soon” with their planned upgrade packages.

The Spaniard claimed 10 points in the season opener at Albert Park after a P5 finish, meaning he has already acquired 59 per cent of his 2017 points total in just one race.

Alonso was encouraged by the result, and does not think it will be too long before McLaren can change the top three into a big four.

“We saw the potential of the car, we understood we had a good machine in our hands,” said Alonso via the official Formula 1 website.

“Now is the time for McLaren to come back to the top positions, and to do so you have to compete against the best teams in the world: Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes.

“And to be at that level we need to be better than them [in development], and we need to close that gap as soon as possible. And this will come with updates and clever ideas, and I’m sure we’ll bring those very soon.”