Fernando Alonso says he and McLaren are ready to be patient over any early teething-troubles with its new Formula 1 car because he is confident success will come eventually.
McLaren released images of its new Honda-powered MP4-30 on Thursday, ahead of its first track running at Jerez in Spain on Sunday.
The car is the first McLaren-Honda F1 car since 1992, and Alonso will be the first man to drive it.
Having returned to McLaren with the sole intention of grabbing a title, Alonso says motivation is high, but he is equally realistic that there may be early difficulties to overcome first.
“Of course, we’re prepared for a steep learning curve, but it’s clear to see that inside McLaren-Honda there’s total commitment, and a real change in feeling, as we start this new partnership,” he explained.
“Our first target will be to learn the maximum from the car at the pre-season tests, understand the package, and extract as much performance as possible. That won’t be easy or trouble-free, but we’re ready for that.
“Why? Because our key focus will be on development. Historically, McLaren has already been characterised by its ability to bring updates to the car quickly, and develop a strong package.”
Team-mate Jenson Button agreed that McLaren’s renewed motivation amid Honda’s return has not blinded it to the huge gap that still needs closing to the front of the grid.
“You can really sense a feeling of reignited optimism and positivity around the building,” he said.
“I’ve never seen such motivation amongst the guys – we’re all massively keen to get going in Jerez and to work hard on developing our new car.
“But we’re under no illusion that it will be easy – there’s a huge challenge ahead of us to try to pull back the gap to our rivals, but we’re certainly up for it.
“We ended last season with great momentum and clear progress, and I’m determined to carry that forward into 2015.”
