KEY POINTS:
Fading Formula One powerhouse McLaren believes it has the plan to lead it out of the wilderness this year.
And the British-based outfit has issued a bold warning to pre-season pacesetter Ferrari that it has had its best lead-up to the season, starting at Albert Park this week.
McLaren-Mercedes boss Martin Whitmarsh said yesterday the team would be a powerful force as it battled to regain lost prestige. McLaren has endured a 19-race winless streak, with Kimi Raikkonen's victory in the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix its last success.
But Whitmarsh said the combination of new recruit, reigning world champion Fernando Alonso, and a relatively flawless test period had boosted the outfit's confidence.
"We're going to the first race with possibly more knowledge about this car than we have ever had going into the first race of a season," he said.
"We launched the car when we intended to, we very quickly had two cars available, we've completed good mileage and the overall reliability has allowed us to make good progress.
"Our target is to win the championship and we will be disappointed if we don't do that.
"We are of the belief that we are going to be strong, but we are certainly not being complacent."
Whitmarsh took a veiled swipe at Ferrari, now the favourite because of its quick times during recent testing.
"Typically, looking at the times at the end of a session is a misleading process," he said. "We generally have reviewed where we were running in our programme and felt that we were reasonably competitive ... whether we've been or haven't been on the test track doesn't matter.
"All that matters is how we perform in Australia and henceforth in the remaining 16 races," he said.
Alonso, lured away from Renault midway through last season, said a third consecutive world title this year was a realistic goal for him.
"I think that after winning the title two times, the championship should be our target and we have to focus everything to fight for it," he said.
The Spaniard was confident the McLaren's performance would challenge the frontrunners.
"The first time we put the MP4-22 on the track it felt competitive, but there was work to do," he said. "We have progressed a lot in some of the areas where we were not so strong and are much more ready now.
"I'm optimistic and confident that we can have a good result."
Alonso's new teammate, rookie Briton Lewis Hamilton, planned to take his debut F1 season step by step.
"I want to win but I have to be realistic, if I was to get a podium this year it would be really amazing, so I've got to work towards that."
- AAP
