Despite starting the race in a respectable fourteenth place on the grid, McLaren-Honda’s Fernando Alonso knew that the Autodromo Nazionale Monza would never be a strong circuit for the team.
The Spaniard finished the Italian Grand Prix in fourteenth place overall today, two places behind his team-mate, Jenson Button, after the duo displayed some close racing.
Alonso didn’t seem overly pleased with his performance in the race, with some trademark frustrated remarks to his engineer over the radio. He commented that:
“We didn’t do a perfect race today – we made some mistakes here and there, including having a problem in the first pit stop, when the green light didn’t work. We lost a little bit of time there which probably compromised the stint.”
Along with the mistakes in the pit box, Alonso was aware that the overall power of the car was not enough. He admitted that: “We didn’t really have the pace to be in the points today, so finishing 11th or 14th didn’t really make much of a difference.”
However, despite the disappointing finish for the team, considering the relatively strong performance in the last few races, Alonso did seem positive about setting the fastest lap of the race:
“We fitted new tyres for the last two laps and I just went out and maximised the grip. It doesn’t make for much difference – it’s only good for the stats – as we were basically never in the running for points today.”
Looking forwards, the Spanish driver can only speak optimistically about the rest of the season:
“This was a circuit where we always knew we wouldn’t be competitive, but I think good times are coming our way from now on, as most of the remaining tracks on the calendar should better suit our car.”
