Alonso predicts ‘tough’ weekend as penalties loom

Fernando Alonso admits McLaren face another testing Grand Prix in Austria, particularly as he is likely to incur one or more grid penalties from Honda making updates to various power unit elements.

On four of the six elements, Alonso has already used four - the maximum number allowed in a season - and the Spaniard is not expecting a sudden reversal of fortunes relative to the last round in Montreal, where both he and team mate Jenson Button retired, having never been in contention for points.

“Well, it will be another weekend where it’s going to be tough, where the results will not look good especially because there are probably some penalties to pay,” Alonso said.

“I think it’s going to be a test weekend for us. There are some updates on the car, so hopefully we go out of this weekend with some answers, and there is the test next week as well - important days ahead for us.”

Asked why he remains optimistic despite McLaren’s dire start to the 2015 campaign, Alonso added: “Because I see a lot of things inside the team, I see the group of people we have, I see the programme that we have in terms of chassis and in terms of engine - I see the resources, the talent of the team, so it’s a question of time when we will be competitive.

“Obviously the position we found ourselves in winter testing was not ideal. Probably we expect a little bit more - but it is the way it is. Hopefully we will make it very short, that period of learning that we are having at the moment.

“In terms of performance, we expect a lot from the car in the next month or two months. So we will see how we end up before summer and how we end up at the end of the year. That will give us some hope for next year.”