Fernando Alonso expressed his disappointment at the inability of McLaren to close the gap to Formula 1's top three teams after qualifying for the Spanish GP.
The Spaniard was able to secure the British team's first appearance in Q3 this season at his home race in Barcelona, eventually claiming P8 and just fractions behind the best midfield car, Kevin Magnussen's Haas.
However, his lap time was still 1.5 seconds slower than the pole time set by Lewis Hamilton with almost a one-second deficit to the two Red Bulls, both of whom use the same Renault engine.
“I am happy with that, P8 is a good position. Probably the downside of this is still the gap. The top six are in another league," he told Sky Sports.
What makes the large deficit even more frustrating is Alonso's satisfaction with the performance of a substantial upgrade for the Spanish race, which it was hoped would see the gap reduced.
“[I’m] definitely happy with the step forward for this race," the 36-year-old said. "Everything we brought to the track has delivered on its expectation. We just need more new parts as soon as possible.”
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Still, the double world champion hopes to use McLaren's usually more competitive race pace to produce a strong result in front of his home crowd.
“I recover on average six places on the Grand Prix, so with that tomorrow, who knows,” Alonso said with a smile.
“Hopefully I will put on a good show for the fans tomorrow. It is important to put on a good show.”
