Fernando Alonso thinks McLaren and its midfield rivals could benefit from the close fight developing at the front of the grid in Formula One this year.
Reigning world champion Mercedes has not claimed a victory this season, its longest barren spell since the introduction of V6 turbo engines in 2014. Ferrari won the opening two races of the year, before Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull capitalised on a late Safety Car at the Chinese Grand Prix to claim a thrilling victory in Shanghai.
In the closing stages of that race Alonso diced with championship leader Sebastian Vettel, who had been pitched into a spin by Max Verstappen, and the Spaniard thinks that highlighted the sort of opportunities which could open up through the year.
When asked what he thought the reasons were for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes not winning yet, Alonso replied: "A combination I think, it is difficult to know from the outside.
"In Australia Mercedes was the strongest and without the Safety Car probably the victory was in their hands. Later in the other two races they were a little bit less competitive. So let's see in this circuit. It is quite open in the front, and this is maybe a good possibility for us as well. A few teams can catch up if they go into strange fights."
McLaren has shown good pace on Sundays but is still yet to progress to the final portion of qualifying -- Q3 -- with its new Renault engines. However, in three races it has scored more points than it did throughout 2017 in its final season with Honda power.
Although Alonso is in good spirits he says McLaren cannot be too pleased until it is a regular contender for podiums and wins again.
"I feel good. We want to be leading the championship. Not only scoring points, and we are not in that position yet.
"Unfortunately we are not competitive enough. We know that we have to improve some areas of the car. We know our strengths and weak points. And we are working on those quite hard to improve the car as soon as possible."
U.S. TV broadcast schedule (all times Eastern)
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Practice 1 - Friday, April 27 - 04.55am - ESPN3
Practice 2 - Friday, April 27 - 08.55am - ESPN3
Practice 3 - Saturday, April 28 - 05.55am - ESPN2
Qualifying - Saturday, April 28 - 08.55am - ESPN2
On The Grid - Sunday, April 29 - 07.30am - ESPN2
Race - Sunday, April 29 - 08.05am - ESPN2
Encore - Sunday, April 29 - 07.30pm - ESPNEWS
Encore - Sunday, April 29 - 10.00pm - ESPN2