F1 digest: Fernando Alonso’s warning to McLaren

McLaren may have started the Formula 1 season with a double-points finish at the Australian Grand Prix, but driver Fernando Alonso has warned the team that they must keep the momentum going in Bahrain.

Alonso and team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne secured points with fifth- and ninth-placed finishes respectively at the season’s opening race in Melbourne. He has now urged McLaren to maximise their potential at this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix and the next race in Shanghai on 15 April.

The two-time world champion told F1i.com: “Australia gave us a positive feeling. After a positive start to the season I’m already really excited to head to Bahrain and get back in the car. I hope we can continue that momentum as we head into these back-to-back races.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

“We mustn’t get complacent. These two races in Bahrain and Shanghai are tough on the cars. It’s important that we maintain good reliability if we are to maximise our potential. The competition is very strong and we need to keep pushing forward for more points.”

Haas practice their pit-stops

While McLaren enjoyed a strong opening Grand Prix down under, for the Haas team the Melbourne race was literally the pits.

Loose wheels on both Haas cars meant that drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean did not finish in Melbourne. A lack of pit-stop practice was to blame.

Haas boss Guenther Steiner said the team have been putting in extra practice ahead of the race in Bahrain. He told Sky Sports: “We tried to do as much as possible until the race. It’s a fine balance because it’s also physical and if people are tired they are just not focused and lose their confidence again.”

Liberty Media to present plans tomorrow

Motorsport.com reported last week that F1 owners Liberty Media will present its “blueprint for the future” to teams and manufacturers at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The BBC takes the story forward by saying that Liberty will hold the meeting tomorrow and F1 motorsports boss Ross Brawn will explain the plans on “cost control, revenue and technical rules”.