Fernando Alonso was disappointed not to make it through to Q3 at the Hockenheimring on Saturday, admitting that McLaren-Honda are not as competitive in Germany as they were in Hungary seven days ago.
The Spaniard could only set the fourteenth fastest time during the qualifying session, complaining a little of traffic but feeling more that the lack of straight-line speed of the MP4-31 was the more hindering factor.
Alonso will move up to thirteenth on the grid once Carlos Sainz Jr takes his grid penalty, and he believes points are a possibility during Sunday’s race.
“It’s a bit disappointing not to be in Q3 today: 14th position isn’t great, but we’re not as competitive at this track as we were in Budapest,” said Alonso.
“This afternoon, I didn’t put a lap together as I had some traffic, which is why I didn’t finish a little bit higher up the order. Additionally, Hockenheim’s long back straight and big acceleration zones don’t really suit our car.
“On the positive side, we have plenty of new tyres remaining, which will give us an advantage at the start and allow us to be a little more creative with strategy.
“It’s going to be tough tomorrow, but hopefully we can recover some positions because points are a real possibility.”
