Alonso calls Austin performance "sublime" before Honda failure

  • Published on 23 Oct 2017 09:02
  • comments 8
  • By: Sam Gale

Fernando Alonso has hailed his personal performance in Austin as sublime before his car again failed him. Alonso qualified ninth for the US Grand Prix which became eighth after Max Verstappen's grid penalty and was solidly competing to be the best of the midfield runners before his Honda engine failed on lap 24.

The retirement marked Alonso's tenth non finish of the season, making it the worst season for reliability for a McLaren for 15 years, with most of the problems originating from the hugely frustrating Honda engine that is being ditched at the end of the year because of its lack of power and reliability.

Although Alonso was disappointed with the retirement, he was surprisingly upbeat after running in a competitive position for most of his race, saying: "I'm very happy with how the weekend went on a personal level - I think the level this weekend was sublime, both in qualifying and in the race, the championship standings don't reflect that. It doesn't change much for me to be 12th or 17th in the championship, but on merit I think we should be a lot higher up."

"I think the engine is broken, and in Mexico there was a chance that we could try to change the engine there and be penalised in order to arrive in Brazil and Abu Dhabi with a fresher engine, now it's basically certain we'll change the engine in Mexico, and therefore another weekend where you start last and it will be complicated to score again."

 

Sam Gale

Replies (8)

Login to reply
  • A pity we had so many engine related retirements this weekend.

    • + 0
    • Oct 23 2017 - 11:23
    • f1ski

      Posts: 726

      A function of the rules set up to allow mercedes who helped draft the PU rules maintain the advantage they have for a long time

      • + 0
      • Oct 24 2017 - 17:56
  • Kean

    Posts: 692

    I think Alonso is one of the greatest F1 racers of all time, but really the guy needs to stop patting himself on the back. I'm tired of hearing how this race or that race was his best ever performance before the engine broke.

    • + 0
    • Oct 23 2017 - 21:07
    • I dont think he has given up on a top seat yet. This talk isnt for us as much as it is for the ears belonging to Wolff and Marchionne. Although he is about as likely at getting a seat in either of those teams as I am at winning the lottery.

      • + 0
      • Oct 23 2017 - 21:44
    • Kean

      Posts: 692

      @Calle.itw Ferrari will never have him back, unless maybe Marchionne leaves (and I wouldn't mind if he did) and the way I understand it, it was Mercedes that footed the bill for that whole spy gate thingy, so Merc won't have him either. So the likelyhood is about as high as me winning the lottery, and I don't even play.

      • + 0
      • Oct 23 2017 - 23:06
    • Well, seeing as neither you nor I will partake in lotterys anytime soon, and seeing as neither you nor I seem to be very good at winning the lottery, it doesnt really look good for dear Alonso.

      • + 0
      • Oct 24 2017 - 12:07
  • xoya

    Posts: 583

    Alonso should not forget that his "sublime" performance was due to the fact he has a Honda engine in his car.
    He also should not forget that Renault, despite having 6 cars worth of data and having been in F1 for longer than Honda has, still had 2 cars DNF with engine problems this weekend alone.
    Honda has its faults but Renault has much worse faults than Honda, IMHO

    • + 0
    • Oct 24 2017 - 11:31
    • This year's Honda unit has been more reliable than the Renault unit, however slight the difference is, and Honda has been releasing far more upgrades, but thats pretty much it. Next year is an "anything can happen" situation though, really hope that'll benefit Honda.

      • + 0
      • Oct 24 2017 - 12:10

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2025

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
14 - Mar 16
Australia
21 - Mar 23
China
4 - Apr 6
Japan
11 - Apr 13
Bahrain
18 - Apr 20
Saudi Arabia
2 - May 4
United States of America
16 - May 18
Italy
23 - May 25
Monaco
30 - Jun 1
Spain
13 - Jun 15
Canada
27 - Jun 29
Austria
4 - Jul 6
United Kingdom
25 - Jul 27
Belgium
1 - Aug 3
Hungary
29 - Aug 31
Netherlands
5 - Sep 7
Italy
19 - Sep 21
Azerbaijan
3 - Oct 5
Singapore
17 - Oct 19
United States of America
24 - Oct 26
Mexico
7 - Nov 9
Brazil
21 - Nov 23
United States of America
28 - Nov 30
Qatar
5 - Dec 7
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
14 - Mar 16
Australia Albert Park
21 - Mar 23
4 - Apr 6
11 - Apr 13
18 - Apr 20
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
2 - May 4
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
16 - May 18
23 - May 25
Monaco Monte Carlo
30 - Jun 1
13 - Jun 15
27 - Jun 29
Austria Red Bull Ring
4 - Jul 6
United Kingdom Silverstone
25 - Jul 27
1 - Aug 3
Hungary Hungaroring
29 - Aug 31
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
5 - Sep 7
Italy Monza
19 - Sep 21
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
3 - Oct 5
17 - Oct 19
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
24 - Oct 26
7 - Nov 9
Brazil Interlagos
21 - Nov 23
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
28 - Nov 30
5 - Dec 7
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Red Bull Racing
  • Points 3,093
  • Podiums 114
  • Grand Prix 213
  • Country NL
  • Date of b. Sep 30 1997 (27)
  • Place of b. Hasselt (Belgie), NL
  • Weight 70 kg
  • Length 1.8 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar