McLaren-Honda ready to race away from Q1

McLaren-Honda might already be leaping into the F1 midfield.

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)

Replies (0)

Login to reply

AZ Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

AZAzerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

Test calendar

See full test schedule

World Championship standings 2026

Show full world champion standings

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2026

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Spain
-
Bahrain
-
Bahrain
6 - Mar 8
Australia
13 - Mar 15
China
27 - Mar 29
Japan
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
1 - May 3
United States of America
22 - May 24
Canada
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
12 - Jun 14
Spain
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2026

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
10 - Apr 12
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
5 - Jun 7
Monaco Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Aston Martin
  • Points 628
  • Podiums 9
  • Grand Prix 194
  • Country ES
  • Date of b. Jul 29 1981 (44)
  • Place of b. Oviedo, ES
  • Weight 68 kg
  • Length 1.71 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar