Fernando Alonso once again made it through to the final part of qualifying in the Mp4-31, after pipping team-mate Jenson Button to the final spot in Q3, and being seemingly able to get the best out of the McLaren-Honda when it matters.
It was a positive result for the Spaniard and the McLaren team, who were not expecting to perform well at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. They have however brought a new turbocharger to Montreal, which should help with energy recovery during the race, an area that the team lag behind in currently, and Alonso is ready to take on the challenges of the Canadian track.
“That was a nice surprise today – we’ll take it. I was definitely happy with that session – it can be a tricky circuit in these mixed conditions, and tomorrow will be tougher for us, but there’s potentially wet weather forecast for tomorrow, and maybe a bit of rain would help us.”
The Spaniard was pleased with today’s result, and is confident of a strong race tomorrow, when he will give it everything to secure a strong result for the team.
“I’m very happy – we’ve done an amazing job with this car in the past 12 months and we’re now in a position that’s perhaps better even than we’d expected. So I have to say thanks to everyone in the team: we were only four-tenths behind Ferrari in Q2, and that should boost the belief and motivation of everyone in the McLaren and Honda factories.
“We’re not fighting for the world championship, so we have nothing to lose. Definitely, it’ll be maximum attack tomorrow.”
