Fernando Alonso has suggested that Renault can power McLaren to race wins in 2018.
The Spaniard's future is still unclear, but it is believed that he is talking over only minor details regarding a new contract with the British team.
That is because McLaren has dumped Honda for 2018 in order to team up with Renault, who powered Red Bull to victory with Max Verstappen a week ago in Malaysia.
"It gives us hope that with this engine you can win races if you have a good chassis," Alonso said at Suzuka.
"But it also puts pressure on McLaren that they need to build a good chassis next year."
When asked if McLaren can withstand that pressure, he said: "McLaren should be afraid of nobody. This team has everything you need to build a good car."
If he stays at McLaren, Alonso will be joined again by Stoffel Vandoorne, who said on Thursday that he is "100%" ready to lead the team.
Indeed, the Belgian outpaced Alonso all weekend in Malaysia.
"Stoffel simply did a better job than me," Alonso admits.
"He was one and a half tenths in front. Definitely it was not the best race for me in terms of luck and the position of the cars after the first corner.
"But Stoffel looked better in practice and qualifying and his race pace was higher."
McLaren enter the Japanese Grand Prix ninth in the constructors' standings.
