Fernando Alonso said he "probably wouldn't" settle for just being on the podium this year, but he was also realistic about McLaren's expectations.
The 35-year-old Spanish driver has said he is "100% determined to win", adding: "I want to be a world champion again. ”
Alonso won the championship in 2006 and 2006, but has been underperforming since 2013 and has not been able to win the championship again.
Alonso also added that he never wanted to join the Mercedes team after Nico Rosberg retired last season.
At McLaren's 2017 press conference, Alonso was in a good mood and discussed the following questions:
In the future, on the issue of contract renewal at the end of 2017
Expectations for this season
Join the 16th year of f1 momentum
Feelings about Nico Rosberg's decision to retire
Alonso has won 32 races and is one of the brightest stars in f1. He also satirized the recent observations of his old rival Lewis Hamilton, expressing regret for sharing a lot of F1 data with him, which he believed would allow Lewis Hamill to learn his technique.
Alonso said: "If he had looked more at Rosberg's match data from last year, maybe he would have won the championship." ”
Outlook for 2017
Since the partnership with Honda on the engine in 2015, mcLaren team has ushered in two difficult seasons in a row, after all, in terms of chassis and engine performance, it is still the world champion Mercedes-Benz that is better than one life.
Alonso said it was unrealistic to expect McLaren to close the 1.5-second gap at the end of last season in one winter.
"We need to close such a huge gap." "Jumping from No. 6 in the annual standings to top of the table is something that no one can do except the Brown team in 2009," he said. ”
"We started early enough in 2017. We've put a lot of resources into this year's team and completely changed the philosophy of the engine – it's a risky act, but if we want to win, it's the way to go, because the engine hasn't performed as well as we can win in the last two years. ”
He added: "I expect Mercedes to remain very competitive. Yesterday we saw their new car, which looks very smart and their engine is very dominant. They will be very strong opponents. Red Bull Racing's strength should not be underestimated, and we hope that we are among the best players. ”
About your own future
McLaren has made it clear that it wants to renew Alonso's contract for at least two years after the contract expires in late 2017.
Alonso reiterated last year's statement before taking the position, hoping that the new team can bring the drivers "fighting spirit and racing spirit", so that the drivers can move forward at any time. He also said he wasn't in a hurry to make a decision.
"After the summer break, around September, it's a good time to start sitting down and thinking about what to do next." Alonso said, "Until then, I wouldn't spend much time thinking about future planning. ”
"Obviously, I want to be a world champion. That's why I trained, why I ran and rode in the snow at minus 10 degrees last month. ”
"Normally I would arrive on Monday or Tuesday when I go to Australia, but this time I will arrive on Friday, the week before the race. I'm 100% determined to win this race, and if I win this year, it's going to be even better than next year. ”
Vacancies on mercedes
Alonso is one of the candidate drivers the Mercedes team is considering filling a vacancy for Nico Rosbo to retire – last November, five days after winning his first F1 championship, Nico Rosberg announced his retirement.
But Alonso said he never seriously considered changing the team.
'There have been a lot of phone calls lately, but I haven't made any deal with them because I think I'm happy with McLaren. Alonso said.
"After being amazed by Rothberg's retirement, they had to probe the attitude of each driver. It's not a big deal, and it's not a deep conversation. It's just a little test they'll do with every driver – including me – to assess their situation. ”
"My situation is very clear. I'll be at McLaren this year and I'm excited to be here. So now is not the time to discuss the way to go later. ”
<b>About Rosberg's retirement</b>
Alonso understands Rosberg's choice to retire at the age of 31, but he also stresses that he will not do so.
"If it were me, I wouldn't be retiring. Racing is like a drug to me, I can't stop. He described it this way.
"The courage for him to choose to retire at this time is commendable. Wish him all the best. This is determined by his character. I'm more of a racer in the strict sense. When I was 80 years old, I would still drive a car and leave my children behind, after all, everyone has their own ambitions. ”
(Translator: Yin Xiaolin)