Fernando Alonso has revealed how he plans to recover from the gearbox problem that saw him pull off during Practice 2 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Initial cries of “engine” on the radio by the Spaniard after his McLaren stopped proved to be unfounded with the transmission blamed for his stoppage. But it still cost Alonso valuable track time to work on his race pace, which is they key for the British team this weekend as both cars will start at the back due to engine-related grid penalties.
Speaking after returning to the paddock, the double world champion was surprisingly upbeat with how practice had gone.
“It was a good day,” he claimed. “We tried a number of things in both sessions, ran with different levels of downforce to try and find some positive solutions for tomorrow.
“We can also use the laps Stoffel did on the high fuel load to help us determine the best strategy for the race.”
Alonso will also gauge his own feelings on setup and the race on Saturday, stating: “Because I couldn’t do the long run we had planned today, in FP3, I’ll start with full tanks and go for a run of 15 to 20 laps to try and recover the track time we lost today.
“Because we’ll start from the last row due to the penalties, we’ll take it easy in qualifying and save as many sets of tyres as possible for the race.”
The outlook for Sunday does appear bleak for McLaren, however, with racing director Eric Boullier pointing to GPS data before declaring: “We are very slow this weekend, we were expecting to be slow.”
There was one positive though, with Alonso reportedly testing the new Spec 3 Honda power unit that is aimed at solving the issues that have plagued this year as well as cut partly into the speculated 90 horsepower deficit.
Indeed, after weeks of claims McLaren are set for divorce, Boullier has now backed away from some of the increasingly harsh rhetoric towards their Japanese partner.
“Both organisations are working very, very hard to make sure we get where we want to be,” he claimed.
“The little of bit friction, if there is any, is exacerbated by the media. It’s true that we have to deliver what we need to do. We have to be where we want to be, but both organisations are working hard to deliver.
“I don’t think there is such a drama,” he concluded.