A great chance to score points
FP3 went to plan on both sides of the garage this morning in Austin. Fernando and Stoffel completed two trouble-free runs in dry and sunny but blustery conditions, finishing the session in 13th and 14th respectively.
In qualifying, the field faced similarly windy conditions out on the circuit, but with track temperatures five degrees Celsius higher than in the morning session.
Q1 was a straightforward session for both cars – Fernando opting for one run and Stoffel two. Both cars comfortably passed through into Q2, Fernando in eighth and Stoffel in 13th. Q2 was also drama-free for both drivers, but the differences in the handling between the two cars due to new components became more apparent as the session progressed, Stoffel struggling more with the balance of his car than his teammate. He finished the session in 13th, while Fernando slipped through into Q3 in ninth place.
Fernando started Q3 with a few tweaks to the set-up, and found good track position between cars to post the eighth-fastest time. After a second run and a slightly improved time to stay P8, he eventually finished the session in ninth on the timesheets.
Fernando will ultimately start tomorrow’s race in eighth place due to [Max] Verstappen’s penalty. Stoffel will start 14th due to his own five-place grid penalty, but benefits from penalties for Verstappen, [Lance] Stroll, [Nico] Hulkenberg and [Brendon] Hartley.
“We had some concerns before coming here about how competitive we could be, but we put the car on track and immediately performed quite well, being in the top 10 in every single session, and that was a nice surprise. We also brought some updates here and they are working fine.
“The car felt great today. We had difficult conditions out there – it was very hot and windy in qualifying and the grip level was lower than we expected. In those conditions our car performs extremely well, so our lap in Q2 was good and we were able to make it into Q3, with ninth place overall.
FERNANDO ALONSO, McLaren Honda Driver, MCL32-05
“Tomorrow we’ll start eighth, due to Verstappen’s penalty, so I think it’s a great chance to score points. “We know we still have a deficit on the straights compared to other teams and we’ll probably be a little exposed on the first lap because we’re in a group, but after the first lap has settled I think we could open up the gap in the high-speed section and maybe defend a little bit better. “We’re definitely happy to race here in front of the US fans and I think they’ll see a great race tomorrow!”
ERIC BOULLIER, McLaren Honda Racing Director
“Today both drivers did well to maximise everything they had in their armoury for qualifying. Fernando ran a newer-spec front wing than Stoffel – since he won’t be penalised by grid penalties, unlike his team-mate – and we knew that on this track there was the potential in our package for him to get into Q3. He put in some great laps and pushed the car to the limit of what was possible, so we’re pleased he was able to get through and qualify in ninth.
Honda R&D Co. Ltd Head of F1 Project & Executive Chief Engineer
“The second day of the United States Grand Prix took place under Texas bright sunshine and boiling hot temperatures. Despite the tough conditions, our qualifying was rather positive for the team.
"As both drivers felt there was more room for improvement in terms of the set-up after yesterday's sessions, we focused on finding the best balance of the car in FP3.
YUSUKE HASEGAWA"
Our PU performance this weekend is as we expected, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow's race and hopefully scoring some points.
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