Fernando Alonso believes the next two months of car development will determine whether or not McLaren can legitimately fight for podiums and pole positions in 2018.
After finishing fifth at the opening race of the season in Melbourne, Alonso said McLaren can focus on cutting the gap to fellow Renault customer Red Bull in coming races. Although it is clear McLaren is in much better competitive shape with its new engine supply the Spaniard is realistic about the size of the gap it still needs to cut.
"I think it's still quite a reasonable gap to close with the leaders, but I think it's up to us now," he said.