McLaren-Honda ready to race away from Q1
- Published on 11 Apr 2015 16:09
-
0
- By: Jeroen Jonkers
Initially dead-last in 2015, upbeat members of the new Anglo-Japanese collaboration have insisted much of the progress made in recent weeks has been invisible publicly.
But the cat might be out of the bag in China.
"I was looking for Alonso's name in the times and couldn't find it," Force India's Nico Hulkenberg, 16th on Friday, said after practice in Shanghai.
"I see that they are suddenly far ahead of us," the German is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.
Indeed, Fernando Alonso was twelfth in the second session, but teammate Jenson Button was as high as tenth.
Suddenly, getting out of Q1 seems not so high a mountain, Alonso admitted.
"It seems we are on the right track, approaching the group in the middle of the grid," the Spaniard is quoted by El Mundo Deportivo.
"We did not expect to step forward here, so we are doubly happy," he said.
"I think qualifying will be harder, as everyone can use a bit more power but that's not something we can do yet," Alonso explained.
"But Q2 is a real goal for us for this race."
On the downside, poor reliability so far means that Alonso and Button have eaten into their allocation of 'power units' for 2015 more than any other drivers in the field.
"Penalties are inevitable," Alonso acknowledged. "It is only a question of when, but that is just part of our learning curve at the moment.
"Let's just try to learn from everything that is happening to us to find solutions and keep going," he added. (GMM)
Trending news
-
Hadjar sees only positives for Red Bull ahead of Monaco
Isack Hadjar believes Red Bull Racing has finally identified the performance window it needs to challenge for victori...
29 May 2026 17:38 -
Why Fittipaldi believes Russell has already given up on 2026
George Russell has drawn sharp criticism from former Formula 1 driver Christian Fittipaldi after appearing to concede...
29 May 2026 16:36 -
Why McLaren insists Lambiase is not being groomed as Stella's successor
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has dismissed speculation that Gianpiero Lambiase is being groomed to succeed hi...
29 May 2026 15:33 -
Why Steiner calls Wolff his 'rockstar' of the Canadian GP
Guenther Steiner has singled out Toto Wolff for praise after the Mercedes team principal allowed Kimi Antonelli and G...
29 May 2026 14:31 -
Why Martin Brundle defended Russell's angry headrest throw
Martin Brundle has defended George Russell following the Mercedes driver's angry reaction to his retirement at th...
29 May 2026 13:29
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
Test calendar
Circuit de Catalunya - Winter testing
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
World Championship standings 2026
Related news
Give your opinion!
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Driver profile
- Team Aston Martin
- Points 628
- Podiums 9
- Grand Prix 197
- Country ES
- Date of b. Jul 29 1981 (44)
- Place of b. Oviedo, ES
- Weight 68 kg
- Length 1.71 m
187,545 comments on Aston Martin
78 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Fernando Alonso
Team profile
- Team name Force India
- Base Silverstone, India
- Sergio Perez 11
- Sergio Perez 11
- Nico Hülkenberg 12
- Adrian Sutil 14
- Adrian Sutil 15
- Lance Stroll 18
- Adrian Sutil 20
- Nico Hülkenberg 27
- Nico Hülkenberg 27
- Esteban Ocon 31
- Esteban Ocon 31
96,021 comments on Force India
8 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Force India

Replies (0)
Login to reply