Fernando Alonso says "every race is a test" for McLaren as it looks to move up the grid in the second half of the season.
The McLaren-Honda partnership has a been a troublesome one so far this season, with a number of reliability issues limiting the performance available from the power unit. Steady progress has seen Alonso score points in back-to-back races, following tenth place at Silverstone with a surprise fifth at the Hungaroring.
While acknowledging McLaren cannot be satisfied until it is fighting for victories, Alonso says the team has to take a different view of success during a race weekend at this stage of its development.
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"We are here to compete, to win one day, but we are not in that position right now," Alonso said. "Every race is a test for us. We need to keep improving and we need to keep growing.
"I think we know that we are going in the right direction, but it’s always better if you score points, that you can touch with your hands some points and results finally. A little bit lucky [in Hungary] with some of the things that have happened. Some of the races we have been unlucky so we need take every opportunity.”