Alonso upbeat with progress at McLaren

Fernando Alonso is upbeat about progress with his McLaren Honda ahead of the Russian Grand Prix, saying the difference in this year's car to last year's is like night and day..

He told media on the eve of the weekend at Sochi, "We are definitely more competitive, race after race, but here is a good test for us – the power effect is quite high here.

“I think it is the fourth-highest of the championship, so we will need to recover in the corners big-time..."

He added that the difference between last year’s disappointing performances and this season’s improved form was very clear.

“It’s night and day,” he said. “This year is a completely different picture and we are able to fight with other cars.

“China is not a good example because of the different strategies – and the different tyre combinations and tyre ages that we ran there makes the overtaking very easy on both sides.”