DRIVING LIKE ALL THE ANIMALS
T
he Chinese Grand Prix was always
going to be a tough ask for McLaren,
but Fernando Alonso refused to
buckle as he threw everything he had into
his qualifying lap which saw him finish 13th
on the timing screens a half second faster
than his teammate Stoffel Vandoorne.
The Spaniard delivered a gutsy display,
in the woeful underpowered McLaren
Honda, throwing caution to the wind as he
flung the car around Shanghai International
Circuit.
Over the team radio Alonso declared,
“I was driving like all the animals. It is when
you don’t care any more whether you have
a snap or a spin or whatever.”
“We felt really non-competitive in FP3
so we went into Q1 with pessimism in
the targets. I did the lap flat out in some
corners, not caring too much about the risks
over the limit. We crossed the line and I
thought ‘Wow, P10’ that should be enough
for Q2.”
“P13 in Q2 is a big surprise for us with
the expectations we had before qualifying.
Now we need to capitalise on this position
and hopefully bring some points.”
“I think in the corners we are really
good – as fast as anyone else – but on the
straights we are the slowest by far,” he said.
“The rain will be good for us I think. In
normal conditions I think it’s unlikely we get
some points. A chaotic race will help us.
“We raced a couple of times here in the
wet so we should use that experience to
take any opportunity,” added Alonso a one
time winner of the Chinese Grand Prix.