After another dismal qualifying, this time for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, McLaren driver Fernando Alonso claims that he is having a positive weekend in Baku despite the fact that he will start from the back row of the grid as the FIA pile on the penalties.
Alonso failed to make it beyond F1 during qualifying and gave a glimpse of his reality to reporters afterwards, “Our speed is so slow that [other drivers] think we are on a slow lap but no this is our speed, we are starting a timed lap so they get surprised a bit.”
When asked how he was feeling in Baku, despite the setbacks the Spaniard was upbeat, “It has been very positive for me.”
Both his long time advisor Flavio Briatore and manager Luis Garcia Abad have been seen in the paddock in conversation with Mercedes and Renault senior managers.
Briatore having dinner with Mercedes chiefs Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda, and Abad meeting with Renault bosses Alain Prost and Cyril Abiteboul.
#azerbaijan #baku #f1 #restorant #Niki #Toto #Flavio #dinnertime #fun http://pic.twitter.com/qOMD0ZK7gt
— Flavio Briatore (@Briatore) June 23, 2017
Alonso has made it clear he wants out of McLaren-Honda if the team cannot provide him with a winning car by August.
But options for him are severely limited as the top three teams – Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari – are well served with their current drivers or,as in the case of Ferrari, are not keen to sign the double F1 World Champion.
Meanwhile Alonso and his McLaren teammate Stoffel Vandoorne’s have had their grid penalties for the race in Baku, extended to 40 and 30 respectively, by the FIA.
The FIA stewards said in a statement that Alonso had another 25-place grid penalty added to his previous sanction of 15 grid places after changing his car’s Honda engine for a seventh time this season. Drivers are permitted to use a maximum of four engines per season.
In a separate statement, the FIA said Alonso’s teammate Vandoorne has had his grid penalty extended to 30 places after the same offence.
Vandoorne’s use of a seventh Turbo Charger (TC) and seventh Motor Generator Unit Heat during the third practice session means he drops 15 grid positions, added to the 15-place penalty he incurred earlier in the week.
The punishments, which mean the orange cars start from the back of the grid, are yet another embarrassing episode for the team as they seek to improve their efficiency, reliability and track performance.
Neither Alonso nor Vandoorne have taken any points during the opening seven races of the 2017 season, and the sport’s second most successful team lies last in the constructors’ championship.
Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247
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