"Ferrari will always be competitive but always maybe missing the last bit," says Spaniard as he considers obstacles to Mercedes
Tuesday 31 May 2016 11:42, UK
Fernando Alonso says it is possible McLaren will meet the belief of Ron Dennis that they will be F1's next world champions.
McLaren are yet to finish on the podium since reuniting with engine partners Honda and haven't won a race since 2012.
But a defiant Dennis told the BBC: "I honestly believe that the next world champions after Mercedes will be McLaren. We'll get to that goal before other people.
"It is challenging but I have a firm belief in the technical competence of our people and a firm belief in Honda."
Asked about Dennis' remarks and those of Eric Boullier, after the McLaren team principal predicted the Woking outfit would be quicker than Ferrari in Monaco this weekend, Alonso joked: "I have to agree with them because they are the bosses!"
However, the Spaniard also insisted he can foresee how McLaren could emerge as F1's next leading outfit.
"Will we be the first to stop Mercedes' domination? I don't know yet but it's quite possible. Red Bull are a top team but not having a big engine manufacturer in this F1 is tough and Ferrari will always be competitive but always maybe missing the last bit."
The two-time world champion quit Ferrari at the end of 2014 to return to McLaren after losing faith in the Scuderia's ability to become title winners again amid a championship drought which has now stretched to almost a decade.
But despite McLaren's desperate struggles last year, when they only outpointed the scoreless Manor outfit, Alonso's belief in the McLaren-Honda reunion is stronger than ever.
"It is difficult to know how things will change next year and what the mix of competitiveness will be, but l see this project going in the right direction," he said.
"Last year we had a lot of difficulties and underperformed. We just had to hope last year that things would get better. This year, there is something more than hope. We have started touching results and everything in the background makes a lot of sense and we can be more confident than we were a year ago."
But while the future still burns bright for McLaren, the team currently remains in the midfield pack and Alonso is only cautiously optimistic that McLaren can build on their appearance in Q3 for the Spanish GP with a strong result in F1's showpiece event this weekend.
"We came here last year with some expectations and we were 11th in qualifying," he recalled. "Mercedes will be strong, Red Bull will be strong and Ferrari will be competitive. We need to make sure we are close to that group of cars. If we are and we are close to them then that will be a good result.
"But that means seventh, eighth, ninth - still not a magic position, we are still not that competitive."
Indeed, for all the welcome signs of improvement, the unavoidable sense of historic perspective is applied by McLaren's peerless record around F1's iconic venue. For a team which has previously won 15 times in Monaco - eight more times than Ferrari, who hold the next-best record - a double appearance in Q3 would still amount to a mere drop in the Mediterranean Sea.
