McLaren’s Fernando Alonso has confirmed that the British squad hasn’t run with any upgrades since the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this year. The Woking outfit is having a miserable end to the season as it has slipped to be a firm backmarker on the grid.

McLaren started the year somewhat positively, with Alonso claiming fifth place in Australia – his best result since re-joining McLaren in 2015. But the team has since fallen spectacularly, making regular exits from Q1 and rare top ten finishes.

“We have not had improvements since Spain,” said Alonso. “We can see in photos and on the track that the rest of the teams in the middle zone bring things race to race and we do not. So the problem is not whether it’s the same car from Sochi or not. Actually, we have the same car from last year – from 12 months ago.

As his F1 career is coming to a close, Alonso admits that he is focusing more on his World Endurance Championship duties: “In one world championship I’m trying to help the team to be sixth, in the other I am fighting to be world champion. There’s no doubt where my goal is.”

McLaren will run with a fresh line up in 2019, having already announced Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris. It currently sits in sixth place in the constructor’s championship, but faces the threat of being jumped by a resurging Force India before the end of the year.

Speaking about McLaren’s outgoing Stoffel Vandoorne says it should be no surprise for McLaren to find itself where it currently is: “We did not really develop the car from Barcelona. Until then, we were still a little competitive. It’s no surprise that we have not made progress.”