The pressure is building on a number of key personnel within McLaren in the wake of what is perceived as disappointing performances during the 2018 season.
Though Fernando Alonso has finished in the points so far, one of the only a few with that distinction, the results of his teammate Stoffel Vandoorne are some way short of what was hoped with just eight points to his name so far.
With Formula 2 racer and reserve driver Lando Norris poised and desperate for a promotion, the Belgian insists that gap is not representative of their relative pace.
“The difference between Alonso and me is extremely small and when you’re fighting with some of the best drivers in the world, even having a good day does not guarantee that you finish ahead of them,” he was quoted by PlanetF1.
“Fernando is one of the most complete drivers on the grid when it comes to squeezing everything out of any car he drives but we are not as far apart as it may sometimes appear.”
Also facing scrutiny is racing director Eric Boullier, who was drafted in following the demise of Lotus in 2014, but the Frenchman too is prepared to fight for his place in the wake of Tim Goss’ departure just a few weeks ago.
“Yes, I believe it,” he said when asked if he still had the confidence that he can turn McLaren back into a winning team.
“In the past I have managed, revitalised and restructured several teams, and I have won with all of them in all categories, I know my job, we have to make sure that we can do it.
“We know what we have to do, we have to improve in reliability and performance, now there are other teams with the same engine, so we have references, it’s a long road, this has been another step, a good job has been done to recover the reliability from the tests.”
Interestingly, speculation continues to also link Alonso with the exit door at the end of the season too with the same publication, Diario Gol, reporting for the third time the double world champion could leave but this time they have a possible new destination in mind.
“The possibility of seeing the Spaniard in a Haas next season is not far-fetched,” they claim.
“The owners of the team, Americans, want to take the team to a higher level. They have invested a lot of money in the car and now they want to do it in a driver.”
