Fernando "massively frustrated", but praises McLaren progress
Saturday 16 April 2016 14:15, UK
A "massively frustrated" Fernando Alonso believes McLaren would have secured the first Q3 appearance of their Honda reunion had Q2 run its normal course.
Alonso was heard expressing his annoyance over the radio when he was informed he would not have time for his second flying lap, after a red flag had been thrown for Nico Hulkenberg's flying wheel.
"Argh, argh, argh," the Spaniard groaned as he made his way back to the pits in 12th place, having missed the chance to set a time on new supersoft tyres.
"Massively frustrated today," Alonso later told Sky Sports F1. "I think the car has the potential to be in Q3. Both McLarens were competitive.
"We didn't use the new tyres, we didn't use the full engine power, just waiting for that lap to be in Q3 and we didn't even open the lap, so that was frustrating."
But despite the frustration, Alonso admitted there were positives from the day too given that even Q2 appearances were a rarity for McLaren during their troubled first year back with Honda in 2015.
"We were aiming to pass Q1 a few races ago, and now we are frustrated to not be in Q3, so definitely the car is growing and we are moving in the right direction," he added.
"Also, we have free choice of tyres for the race, so let's take advantage of that and hopefully we finish the weekend on a high."
Although denied the chance to improve their grid positions themselves by the Force India-triggered red flag, Alonso and Jenson Button do move up one position apiece on Sunday's grid after stewards gave Hulkenberg a three-place penalty.
Stoffel Vandoorne is the only McLaren driver to score points so far this year after the team's reserve stood in for Alonso in Bahrain, although the Spaniard and Jenson Button have both suffered a race retirement apiece so far.
Alonso, who has said he will manage the pain that remains following the rib injury he sustained in his massive Melbourne accident, is optimistic he will be able to open his account on Sunday.
"Points are the target - how high is impossible to know," he said. "Yesterday we were not completely happy with the race pace, we were not super fast. We made a lot of changes in the car so let's see if we are more competitive and we can score more points than we think."
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