Can't blame him. I wouldn't care about grid penalties , etc just do what you can to get the pu up to snuff.
2015 is a testing year for McLaren-Honda, with not much expectations. So, I am not surprised that Alonso sees it like that. He is just being realistic.
+1 I also think the thread title is a little, shall we say, "biased". "Throwing in the towel" suggests he's quitting. Not the case at all - In fact, he says there's a *lot* of work to do in order to get back to the pointy end, and further that he's totally dedicated to achieving that. Having said that, I recall watching an interview with Uncle Ron (in the pitlane after Abu Dhabi?) where he was *adamant* they'd have a winning car this season. I think both he & Honda have been more than a little caught out by just how hard it is these days. As many have noted, anyone writing them off is a fool. They'll get there, just not this season. Cheers, Ian
That was for media consumption: Dennis has to be seen fully in control, even if he is fuming inside. The ban on testing and development is certainly something that affect McLaren and Honda.
This is a another in the long list of problems with the sport. One team has checked out already of the season because their car isn't competitive and the rules don't allow them to become competitive within the year.
Doesn't sound like he's "throwing in the towel" to me, rather it sounds more like he is marching toward his plan with conviction. McLaren-Honda have reduced the gap to Mercedes at every race, unlike some teams that have fallen backwards, so that of in itself is quite a noteworthy achievement for their first year in this formula. Couple that with the fact that they have yet to use a single of their 9 available tokens, while many of the other teams already have, it's nothing short of amazing to me that they are making the gains they are making at every race. 2016 should be a more exciting year for both Jenson & Nando.
This is why the ban on testing and the restriction on development have to go. The attempt to cut costs have brought up a silly situation where teams are not allowed to take steps to improve.
Exactly. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if the limits on testing have actually cost the teams more than unrestricted testing would have.
I don't really understand this. I thought it was understood that they were throwing in the towel from day 1. That McLaren has work to be done and that is certainly what the team and drivers need to focus on.
How can they do anything when development and testing are restricted during a season? They are just repositioning the stickers on the car !
Testing outside of race weekends is restricted. But they could use the 6 or so hours of track time during each race to test rather than race or qualify. And while engine updates are limited with the absurd token system, they are free to do aero and chassis work.
If McLaren does improve and close the gap to Mercedes/ferrari, then it looks like it will be Jensen who may be World Champion...
Personally, i think both Jenson and Fred should remain in 2016. As per original poster, this season is just a long testing season.
The F1 survey is asking about Friday test sessions. Someone's listening. Macca knew that this would be a building year after the first preseason test.
