McLaren will be in the fight for title entire season: Jean Alesi

By Dorian MelwinCHENNAI: Defending world constructors championship holders McLaren have bounced back well from their middling start in the ongoing F1 season. After a horrendous Chinese Grand Prix where both of their cars failed to even start the race, the Woking-based team has now achieved a podium in the last two races. Former Canadian GP winner Jean Alesi believes that McLaren will be the ones to challenge Mercedes at the top of the constructors standings through the course of the season.Speaking before the sprint race at the Circuit Giles Villeneuve in Montreal, Alesi said, “McLaren’s case is strange because they never start the season well. But they always have a way to understand where their car is in terms of competitiveness. They know where they are losing performance compared to other things, and when they make those development upgrades, they are always right. For me, McLaren is going to be fighting for the championship the whole season with Mercedes.”In addition to speaking about McLaren’s title challenge this season, Alesi also spoke about the closeness between the grid overall due to the new regulations. Speaking about the sprint qualifying that happened a day earlier, Alesi stated: “The drivers looked very competitive yesterday. The grid is quite compact in terms of the time distance. The top six drivers are all within a three-tenths of each other. We have seen how different the racing is with these new regulations with regards to qualifying time because the operation of these batteries makes them so different. I love it, honestly.”Alesi also expressed how his initial anxiety about the regulations were quashed after the first race in Australia, saying: “I was surprised after the first race because I had heard so many bad things about the new regulations from many people during the winter break. I was waiting for the first race and when I was watching the Australian Grand Prix, I loved the competition that was there between Ferrari and Mercedes after a few laps. I loved it and I think it’s a new way to race.”One man that is among the ones benefiting the most from the new regulations is George Russell, with the Canadian Grand Prix being a particular favourite of his over the past years. The Mercedes driver won the last Grand Prix and got pole in his last two outings. But with rain projected for Montreal, Alesi has stated that continued dominance is not assured. “I have to say it’s a gamble in the rain. It's not just the skill of the drivers. It’s also because the quantity of water in the track can be a lot because of the rivers around the track. I hope we have an exciting Grand Prix, but I won’t have anyone dominating under the rain.”(Formula 1 can be watched on FanCode)