Fernando Alonso hopes rivals’ F1 upgrades ‘don’t deliver’ as Six Hours of Spa winner returns to McLaren duty

Fernando Alonso is hopeful that McLaren can gain ground on their Formula One rivals at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, and that the upgrades introduced among their rivals “don’t deliver” as planned in the hope of regaining the ground lost over the first four races of the season.

McLaren have endured a tricky start to 2018, particularly in qualifying, with Alonso securing a best of fifth place in Melbourne and three subsequent seventh-place finishes, while teammate Stoffel Vandoorne managed eighth in Baku last time out after three straight 14th-place finishes.

In stark contrast to that form, Alonso returned to the top step of the podium on his World Endurance Championship debut on Saturday as he triumphed in the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps alongside former F1 drivers Sebastian Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima, with the Spaniard also driving for Toyota this year along with his grand prix commitments.

But with his McLaren cap back on for this weekend’s return home to Barcelona, Alonso hopes that the grid-wide upgrades planned for Sunday’s race do not work out for their rivals as much as they do for the Woking-based team – or else risk falling even further behind.

"In Barcelona there is a new aero package coming, but I think 95 per cent of the paddock is bringing a new aero package to Barcelona,” Alonso said after his WEC triumph at the weekend.

"So, maybe the gap remains as it is, or we just recover a little bit, or we lose more ground. Who knows? I think it is up to us to make that package work to expectations and hopefully some others, they don't deliver. That is our hope."

The Spanish Grand Prix kicks off a busy summer schedule for Alonso as he looks to combine his F1 commitments with the inaugural WEC ‘Super Season’, which runs until June next year. As a result, Alonso will participate in grand prix in Barcelona and Monte Carlo this month before taking part in the Le Mans 24 Hours Test Day on 3 June, with the 36-year-old then returning to F1 for the Canadian Grand Prix on 10 June before flying back to France immediately for Le Mans week.

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While Alonso appears to have the fastest car on the grid in WEC following Saturday’s one-two finish for Toyota, the same clearly cannot be said with McLaren. The eight-time constructors’ champions have so far failed to reach the third and final phase of qualifying at all four races this season, meaning both Alonso and Vandoorne have had to battle from outside the top 10, and racing director Eric Boullier had previously talked up the planned upgrades for Spain, before casting doubt on how much of an impact they will actually make.

"There is a new direction maybe starting from Barcelona and you cannot expect, as Fernando said, to jump everybody," said Boullier. "Everybody is bringing parts, everybody is bringing a package, especially for the first European races.

"Monaco will be another upgrade, Canada will be another upgrade and Silverstone as well. It is every race."