Berger: Alonso will win with McLaren-Honda
After five seasons with Ferrari, Fernando Alonso has decided to take on a new challenge by returning to McLaren, the team he left on bad terms at the end of the 2007 season.
Since 2007, a lot has happened and the Asturian Bull was said to be sharper than ever, but an accident during winter testing disrupted his plans. The double World Champion will miss the first Grand Prix of the season and is forced to rest before he can get back into the cockpit of a Formula 1 car.
Despite everything, Gerhard Berger, who drove for McLaren-Honda alongside Ayrton Senna between 1990 and 1992, believes that Alonso will be capable of winning several races with the British team and possibly titles.
« Fernando is an excellent driver, he is handling this accident the right way and I don’t think it will affect him, » explains the Austrian to the BBC. « I don’t think it’s important whether McLaren’s tests or first race are good. It’s normal. It would have been a surprise if Honda had been competitive from the start. »
« When Alonso signed with McLaren-Honda, I think he knew he would go through a learning period. Once that is done, I am sure he will be there to reap the rewards of this work. He has a lot of talent, not just in terms of driving; he manages the political aspect very well. »
For his return to McLaren, Alonso experienced one of the most challenging winters of his career with only 117 laps completed, barely 536 kilometers.
