Fernando Alonso is worried McLaren could be in for another frustrating weekend in Austria as he fears the consequences of an expected engine penalty.
Alonso will have an upgraded aerodynamic package in Spielberg, continuing McLaren's policy of alternating new parts between its drivers this season, but faces the prospect of starting from the back of the grid for moving on to his fifth engine, something which should be confirmed later in the weekend. The Spaniard is still yet to score a point in 2015, showing the first signs of frustration in Canada, and has a dim outlook for the race in Austria.
"It will be another weekend that's going to be tough, where the results will not look good, especially now that there are some penalties to pay," Alonso said. "I think it's going to be a test weekend for us, very important as there as some updates on the car so hopefully we go out of this weekend with some answers and from the test next week as well. Important days ahead ... I'm optimistic with the things coming to the car in the near future but in terms of result it will not change too much this weekend and will probably be even worse."
Alonso is keeping a positive outlook about McLaren's ongoing struggles and he says he has no doubts the team can get back to the top in time.
"Probably we expected a little bit more [by now] but that's the way it is. I think the performance has aways been improving, race after race, and I think here will be the case as well. The thing of this weekend is just the final result which we don't know will be good enough to make us happy, because with the penalties we will start a little bit at the back.
"Why do I remain optimistic? Because I see a lot of things inside the team. I see the group of people we have, the programme we have in terms of chassis and engine. I see the resources, I see the talent of the team, so it's a question of time when we will be competitive. Hopefully we will make it short, this period of learning we are having at the moment, but I'm optimistic."