Alonso believes Mclaren to be a strong contender in 2011

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Fernando Alonso is fully expecting McLaren to be challenging for a podium place in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have both so far complained about their new car ahead of the latest Formula One campaign. Throughout testing the MP4-26 appeared to be wanting for pace, and in particular struggled for reliability.

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso believes that McLaren-Mercedes are going to be competitive in the 2011 Formula 1 season despite the problems they are facing with their new car, MP4-26.

McLaren are currently struggling with their new car in terms of reliability despite having a lot of pace. The team was unable to test its new car as much as the rest of the teams during the pre-season test session and as a result, they were unable to improve it and resolve its problems.

Fernando Alonso on the other hand believes that McLaren’s new car is better than it looks and the pre-season test sessions do not explain anything regarding a team’s performance in the upcoming season.

“They're better than they look. Winter testing doesn't explain anything. They say themselves that they are expecting a little more, so perhaps they will be at a similar level to the best [in Australia] and then go on ahead. When we get there, we'll see,” Fernando told the media.

He added, "When we get there, we'll see. McLaren are not going to be fighting for 10th place, but rather the podium."

Alonso also dismissed the theory that the design of the new McLaren has been compromised by the contrasting driving styles of British stars Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Other than that, Alonso also spoke about the tyre degradation issue of Pirelli and said braking was his main concern.

“Before [with Bridgestone], you would come to the end of the straight and step on the brake with all your strength. Now if you do that, you block the wheels, especially the rears. The traction is also worse. Before you would step on the accelerator quickly out of a corner, but now it's more measured,” he said.