The Spaniard told reporters at the US Grand Prix, where he was ninth fastest in a wet first practice on Friday, that McLaren needed to find another two and a half seconds of pace to match Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton put his McLaren on pole for the Malaysian Grand Prix on Saturday, as the team locked up the front row of the starting grid for the second race in a row.
All-rounders Ryan McLaren and Wayne Parnell were named in South Africa's 15-man squad on Wednesday for the three-match Test series against Australia starting on February 12.
McLaren stepped up their preparations for the new Formula One season with the track debut of their new MP4-21 car.
Honda's new V6 turbo hybrid Formula One engine will make its track debut at Silverstone on Friday in the back of a McLaren development car.
McLaren unveiled their 2013 Formula One car with a literal blast from the past on Thursday as they celebrated 50 years in grand prix racing and looked forward to returning to the top this season.
McLaren said on Sunday they intend to appeal against a stewards' decision that stripped their Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton of victory in the Belgian Grand Prix. It is not clear whether any appeal would be allowed under the sport's rules, however.
Britain's 2009 world champion Jenson Button has signed a new multi-year contract with McLaren, the Formula One team announced on Wednesday.
McLaren have had to fly in replacements from Britain after four members of their Formula One team fell sick at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix.
The victory at Suzuka was the Dutch driver's 13th in 16 races this season and left him on the brink of a third world title.
Jenson Button has hit out at former teammate Lewis Hamilton's description of McLaren as a team where he felt suffocated on Thursday, admitting the drivers work hard but describing the freedom they enjoy as "phenomenal".
McLaren could barely conceal their delight on Saturday at going from a team in crisis to having Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button on the front two rows of the grid with pretensions of winning the Australian Grand Prix.
Red Bull's triple World champion Max Verstappen wrapped up a year of unprecedented dominance with his record-extending 19th win in 22 races at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton said he had let down McLaren after a starting grid error cost him and his team the Formula One championship lead in Bahrain on Sunday. The Briton finished 13th at Sakhir and was overtaken in the standings by Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen.
Carlos Sainz lapped Monza's "Temple of Speed" with a fastest time of one minute 20.294 seconds, 0.013 quicker than Max Verstappen's final flying lap.
Lewis Hamilton celebrated his 23rd birthday on Monday by showing off the car that McLaren hope will take him to the Formula One title as the youngest champion this season.
McLaren have yet to unlock the potential of their new Formula One car with the start of the season looming, according to Jenson Button.
McLaren gave their rivals something to chew over on Tuesday as Jenson Button kicked off Formula One's pre-season testing with a lap comfortably quicker than anyone else's.
McLaren aim to overtake glamour team Ferrari as Formula One's leading brand within the next 20 years, team principal Martin Whitmarsh said.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen sang "Viva Las Vegas" after racing to a record-extending 18th victory of the season and joining Sebastian Vettel in third place on Formula One's all-time winners' list.
Felipe Massa was leading the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix when fellow-Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed his Renault into the wall on lap 14.
Briton Lewis Hamilton was congratulated by Formula One greats Jackie Stewart and Stirling Moss after a sparkling start to his grand prix career in Australia on Friday.
The Briton said his stunning success is creating some tension between him and McLaren team mate Fernando Alonso.
Force India regained fifth position in the team standings with a double points finish at the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Sunday.
McLaren unveiled the first of a range of supercars on Thursday that will take their Formula One battle with Ferrari and Mercedes out of the racetrack and into the automotive arena.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and McLaren's world champion Jenson Button shared the limelight on Friday in practice for an Italian Grand Prix both are desperate to win.
Max Verstappen celebrated a record 10th win in a row by leading Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez one-two at Ferrari's home Italian Grand Prix
McLaren have left Lewis Hamilton in no doubt that he will feel the love when he goes back to the Formula One team's factory this week for the first time since his move to Mercedes was announced last month.
Seven-times World champion Lewis Hamilton, Formula One's most successful driver of all time, will race for Ferrari from 2025.
Double world champion Fernando Alonso hopes to get his McLaren career off to a winning start on Sunday in an Australian Grand Prix that is far more than just a season-opener.
Max Verstappen took his fifth pole position in a row at the British Grand Prix.
Hamilton is chasing his third win in a row, something he has yet to achieve in a stellar career that has already delivered so much in such a short period, while McLaren are targeting their third successive one-two.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton stormed to a Canadian Grand Prix victory on Sunday to become a magnificent seventh winner in seven Formula One races this season and seize the championship lead.
Jenson Button ignored an incident-packed race behind him and calmly steered his McLaren to victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix ahead of world champion Sebastian Vettel on Sunday.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton set down a marker for the weekend with the quickest time of the first two practice sessions for the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday.
McLaren have halted work on a new suspension system after Formula One's governing body warned teams that anything that changes a car's ride height between qualifying and the race is illegal.
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