Fernando Alonso says it is difficult for McLaren and Honda to make quick progress “because you have your hands tied” under the current regulations.
Power unit manufacturers are only allowed limited development during the season by way of a token system, with each power unit component carrying a certain weight in terms of tokens. With Honda returning to F1 as supplier to McLaren this season, the Japanese manufacturer has struggled for both reliability and performance in 2015 and is limited in how much it can change.
With both McLaren drivers openly talking about the excitement of the new project at the start of the year, Alonso admits it is tough to maintain such a positive outlook but believes the potential is the same even if the speed at which it can be realised is frustrating.
“I think this is a question we need to answer in a few months or two or three years,” Alonso said. “It’s true that the competitiveness we have now is not what we wanted or not what we expected at least. We knew that this is the first year and quite a difficult time, but obviously going out in Q1 is a little bit more difficult than what we thought.
“I’m still optimistic, I’m happy with the progress of the car. I felt good grip, I felt confident in the corners, I was able to push to the limit and I was happy with the car. Looking at some comparisons with the other guys there are some corners that are quite interesting in our favour. So we need to fix some problems but definitely we are in the right direction.
“Unfortunately with the current rules everything requires a lot of time because you have your hands tied for many things.”
While both McLarens were knocked out in Q1 at Silverstone, Alonso did score his first point at the British Grand Prix. However, Honda motorsport boss Yasuhisa Arai says the result does not mask the challenge ahead.
Click here for a lighter look back at some scenes from the British Grand Prix
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