McLaren-Honda F1 Team driver Fernando Alonso is looking forward to racing in Singapore, at a track that should finally play to the strengths of the MP4-31, following a recent run of high-speed circuits, such as Spa and Monza, which were always expected to be tricky for the Woking based squad.
“We knew Spa and Monza would be among the two most difficult races on the calendar for us. Now we move to the end-of-season fly-aways and we’re optimistic that we can continue pushing for more points and more positive results.”
The layout of the Marina Bay circuit is one the Spaniard loves to drive, and he relishes the challenge it provides. The fact it is raced at night is another plus point for Alonso, as are the fans, all of which the double world champion feels make the atmosphere electric.
“Singapore is a really fun track, very bumpy and challenging, but it’s a quirky layout with a lot of stop-start sections and really fast straights, so you need a car that works well in high downforce set-up and has good traction out of the slower corners.
“Singapore is a great race – it’s always an enjoyable weekend and definitely one of the halo races on the calendar each year. I’ve won there twice before, and the floodlights and energetic fans give it a really exciting atmosphere.”
In 2015, the Singapore Grand Prix was one of McLaren’s best races of the year, due to the lack of long straights and its low power dependency, where McLaren’s fantastic aero package can really shine.
Due to those facts, Alonso is extremely hopeful that he and team-mate Jenson Button may even be able to fight with the front runners this weekend.
“It’s a really long race – usually almost two hours – so a lot can happen. It’s definitely a race of attrition, so I hope we can have a smooth weekend with good reliability, and work our way towards the front.
“Over the past few races, we’ve shown good consistency in our performances, so I’m optimistic that we can continue this form in Singapore.”
