Fernando Alonso thanked his McLaren team for the "great job" in recovering from a mechanical problem to sit in the top 10 after practice at the Monaco GP.

The Spaniard, making his first trip to the Principality since 2016 after participating at the Indy 500 last year, was forced to sit out much of the morning after a brake-by-wire issue meant he had a long pedal during his initial laps around the streets of Monte Carlo.

Though it would be fixed for him to run again, the double world champion was only 17th fastest after the first 90 minutes but would improve nine places in the afternoon to sit just behind top midfield runner Nico Hulkenberg.

“A tough day,” Alonso admitted. “We lost most of the morning. That was quite disappointing because you need as many laps as possible around here to build up your confidence.

“The guys in the garage did a great job and the car was fully ready for the second session, when we were able to recover some of those lost laps."

There is some pressure on the 36-year-old and McLaren to perform in Monaco this weekend, with the Woking-based team always considering the unique challenge of the street circuit as a perfect opportunity to have a strong result.

Considering what would be important for him and the British team to achieve that goal, Fernando explained: “Due to the track evolution, you drive one car in FP1, a different one in FP2, and an entirely new one in qualifying, where you are two seconds quicker.

“So it’s important to adapt – we need to be flexible. Qualifying here is 99 percent of the race, so once you put a good lap together on Saturday, the race becomes a little bit easier.

“There’s still more to come from us. Hopefully, we can put a good lap together on Saturday.”