Nah, to huge difference in race pace.
It would also probably have compromised his own race. Defensive driving makes you slower and uses fuel and time.
I am not too sure about that but he was on same pace as Hulk despite being on harder tires in first two stints and last stint Alonso was faster. With a better SS-S-SS strategy, this could have been an easy P5/P6.
McLaren right now is suffering too much in quali pace if best of the rest is the goal,their race pace is not that bad, I am not going to judge STR right now, they had serious pace today. It just came out of nowhere but in last stint ALO was faster than Gasly but whether it was due to Gasly turning down the engine or ALO's pace being good.ringo wrote: ↑09 Apr 2018, 01:47Mclaren is 3rd in the constructors. Maybe by luck, but they can still try to keep performing with double points finishes until a big chassis upgrade comes.
I don't think they are doing too bad compared to the other midfield teams and compared to last year. They seem to have replaced force india in terms of being behind the top 3 teams.
Agree to every bit of it. i guess as alonso and mclaren Fan , i just wish they speed up bringing new parts in. they way season is going in. Alonso might remain in contention for championship theoretically till last race ( i know extreme wish).godlameroso wrote: ↑08 Apr 2018, 20:53I could already see from the long runs that they had pace, I think it was a good recovery drive from Alonso, he was faster than the Renault but not fast enough to get by, at least Vandoorne also scored some points. Alonso really is amazing, he's 4th in the driver's standings, given where the car is at the moment it's another testament to his incredible abilities. Sure he's had some luck with others not finishing, or making blunders, but he's been there to capitalize on every little mistake. If this is where McLaren are with the package they have imagine where they'll end up once Renault introduces their party mode, and the McLaren chassis takes it's first major step forward. Right now their high drag nearly year old car with new Frankenstein power unit integration is fast enough to hold off anyone not in a red or silver car. Once they find their stride McLaren will be a threat to the top runners, I'm a Honda fan and I'm glad they beat McLaren here, but I've also watched F1 long enough to know what McLaren is capable of when they get things right.
They had the 2nd fastest sector 2 time.makecry wrote: ↑09 Apr 2018, 02:21McLaren right now is suffering too much in quali pace if best of the rest is the goal,their race pace is not that bad, I am not going to judge STR right now, they had serious pace today. It just came out of nowhere but in last stint ALO was faster than Gasly but whether it was due to Gasly turning down the engine or ALO's pace being good.ringo wrote: ↑09 Apr 2018, 01:47Mclaren is 3rd in the constructors. Maybe by luck, but they can still try to keep performing with double points finishes until a big chassis upgrade comes.
I don't think they are doing too bad compared to the other midfield teams and compared to last year. They seem to have replaced force india in terms of being behind the top 3 teams.
I am sure they could have done better today if the tire choice was S-S-SS .
For the MCL33, I am not sure whats happening with the car. They had not so good cornering speeds and poor straight line speed today so if they ran too much downforce, they should have have had good sector 2 but their S2 wasn't that better and their straight line speed was abysmal. Now this is due to traction and/or due to running too much drag idk because the car looks really bare, they dont have a gazillion winglets, just clean lines.. I hope it's nothing fundamental
I am not talking about their fastest lap. Their fastest lap was 3rd fastest. I am talking about general race pace/quali pace. Look at ALO's sector times in quali. Renault have equally good times in s2 but faster s1 and 3 IIRC.diffuser wrote: ↑09 Apr 2018, 04:10They had the 2nd fastest sector 2 time.makecry wrote: ↑09 Apr 2018, 02:21McLaren right now is suffering too much in quali pace if best of the rest is the goal,their race pace is not that bad, I am not going to judge STR right now, they had serious pace today. It just came out of nowhere but in last stint ALO was faster than Gasly but whether it was due to Gasly turning down the engine or ALO's pace being good.ringo wrote: ↑09 Apr 2018, 01:47Mclaren is 3rd in the constructors. Maybe by luck, but they can still try to keep performing with double points finishes until a big chassis upgrade comes.
I don't think they are doing too bad compared to the other midfield teams and compared to last year. They seem to have replaced force india in terms of being behind the top 3 teams.
I am sure they could have done better today if the tire choice was S-S-SS .
For the MCL33, I am not sure whats happening with the car. They had not so good cornering speeds and poor straight line speed today so if they ran too much downforce, they should have have had good sector 2 but their S2 wasn't that better and their straight line speed was abysmal. Now this is due to traction and/or due to running too much drag idk because the car looks really bare, they dont have a gazillion winglets, just clean lines.. I hope it's nothing fundamental
They did perform well there in China last year during. I think Fernando retired from 7th due to engine crapping out after horrible Bahrain, ofcourse the conditions played a roll but still. However I feel like MCL33 is no where is good as MCL32.godlameroso wrote: ↑09 Apr 2018, 04:47If McLaren really has massive downforce China will be a better track for them because you need a lot of stick for everything except that long straight. You gain so much by being able to get on the power sooner and carrying more speed through the medium and low speed stuff that it's worth it to take the drag hit. All the corners in China are dominated by long painful mid corner sections. It's a real front end aero test, here McLaren can really put their money where their mouth is.