Alonso hails McLaren’s strategy
Fernando Alonso finished the Singapore GP in the respectful seventh place. The Spaniard, however, conceded that his team achieved more than its pace would have allowed thanks to his brilliant start and good strategy calls.
The two-time world champion took pride of his team’s achievement under the floodlights of Singapore. He said that his car may have not been the fourth fastest machine on the track in the race, but the start and the strategy allowed them to make the best out of the situation.
“Seventh was the maximum we could achieve today – the best of the rest after the two Mercedes, the two Red Bulls and the two Ferraris. We weren’t perhaps quite the fourth-fastest team here this weekend, so it’s thanks to good strategy and a good start that we were able to bring home this result.”
“I chose to go on the outside at the start, and the crash didn’t affect me as I was already up into sixth at that point. Then I braked very late for the first corner and got past Daniil [Kvyat] and Kimi [Raikkonen]. Everything went fine – sometimes you just need to get lucky.”
Alonso disclosed that he was even thinking of a possible podium finish and was hoping for something to happen to the front-runners, but he had to settle for the seventh place in the end.
“For a time, I was even hoping for a podium finish – if something had happened ahead of me it could have worked out that way – but in fact it was one of those races in which nothing happened at the front. But, overall, we did the best we could today."
