1
Fernando Alonso has admitted he will start Sunday's Belgian grand prix from the back of the grid. That is because of a double engine change as McLaren's struggling partner Honda introduces a key update at Spa-Francorchamps.
But after boss Yasuhisa Arai suggested Honda will now be on par with Ferrari and targeting Mercedes next, Alonso said rumoured figures of a 50-100 horse power boost are wide of the mark. "I do not think it will be as much power as I have read about" in the media, Alonso said in Belgium, "but we are moving in the right direction. That is what is important."
The Spaniard also suggested that the double engine change and penalties for himself and teammate Jenson Button are not a big deal. "We will start at the back but, as I always say, this is a year of testing for us," he is quoted by Spain's El Confidencial. "All these updates and improvements are with an eye on 2016, so hopefully it will be a good test this weekend," Alonso added.
"There are some races where we need to sacrifice and this is definitely one of them," he is also quoted by Brazil's UOL. "We may not be very competitive at this track, it's not the best layout for us, so I think it's the best place to suffer some punishment. We also need to know that it's probably not the last punishment this year. We need to make sure that we are improving the engine and the car for next year." (GMM)
Grand Prix of BelgiumLocal time
Grand Prix of BelgiumLocal time
Circuit de Catalunya - Winter testing
L. Hamilton
K. Räikkönen
V. Bottas
Circuit de Catalunya - Winter testing
R. Kubica
S. Vettel
V. Bottas
170,317 comments on Alpine F1
72 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Fernando Alonso
430,346 comments on Ferrari 248 members have this team as their favourite Tweets about Ferrari
Bahrain
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
Portugal
Autódromo Internacional do Algarve
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
Monaco
Monte Carlo
Azerbaijan
Baku City Circuit
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
France
Paul Ricard
Austria
Red Bull Ring
United Kingdom
Silverstone
Hungary
Hungaroring
Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
Italy
Monza
Russian
Sochi Autodrom
Singapore
Marina Bay Street Circuit
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
United States of America
Circuit of the Americas
Mexico
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Brazil
Interlagos
Australia
Albert Park
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
United Arab Emirates
Yas Marina Circuit
Replies (1)
Login to replykhasmir
Posts: 893
Most likely Honda tuned the power units down so not to destroy them straight away. Will be a few more races until we see real improvements in performance.