Fernando Alonso claims the car he will drive in Abu Dhabi is 50 per cent 2016 parts as McLaren looks to focus on next season, writing off a rather disappointing year with Honda.
The team currently sit last but one in the championship standings, 27 points ahead of Manor, but crucially just nine points behind eighth-placed Sauber.
Alonso however believes it would be a big ask for them to close that gap and overhaul Sauber in the final race of the season as they have now switched focus to next year.
“They are nine points ahead. We have scored points three or four times only this year. To score as many as ten in one race is a bit difficult,” he said on Thursday.
“We will try to do our best, try and perform a good weekend but our minds are on next year’s project. Probably half of the car is next year’s parts and next year’s philosophy as well.
“So I think we are not too worried about beating Sauber this weekend or not.”
Meanwhile Alonso reiterated his claim that McLaren will improve and offer him the best chance of securing a third title, but doubted whether that would happen in 2016.
“At the moment it’s a question mark, I guess, where McLaren-Honda can be next year. There are a lot of expectations in the team. I think we worked hard all season, been united in some difficult moments and always moving forward,” he said.
“For 2016 the main goal is to come back to where we belong, being competitive, fighting for the top positions. I don’t know if that means fighting for world championships or victories or just being on the podium sometimes. That’s always difficult to know in a very complex sport like Formula 1.
“It’s definitely some big challenge ahead in the winter and I see all the things the team has done in the last couple of months. All this seems very logical, very positive. I’m confident it will be a completely different season next year and I’m happy with the progress.”
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