Alonso: “I really enjoyed driving today”

Bittersweet day at home McLaren after the qualifications of Brazilian GP. If Fernando Alonso put together incredible laps, qualified in Q3 and ended his session in a surprising tenth place, the same cannot be said of Jenson Button, mired in setting and tire problems and only 17th on the grid. However, the prospects for the race are good, open and uncertain due to the strong possibility of rain.

Alonso he is naturally the most satisfied and happy: “Today I really enjoyed driving and I felt confident with the car. These colder conditions seem to suit our package a little better than yesterday's higher temperatures and because of that we got the most out of the car. We were a bit worried because we didn't have any pace in FP3 and we were even more worried when we saw Jenson go out in Q1. I thought it wouldn't be our Saturday and instead, fortunately, the car performed amazingly in all the sets of tires I used. I continued to improve and find an extra tenth every time I went out. I just hope that the time I lost yesterday won't cost me too much in the race as we all did our long runs in different weather conditions. Tomorrow we expect cooler temperatures with the possibility of rain so it will be good to start from the top ten."

The disappointment is burning Button, even more so after the good sensations on Friday: “Yesterday the car was very well balanced and I was 10th in FP2 but today I had a completely different car. There's definitely something wrong, I can't find an explanation for what happened, but it's been like this since the morning: we're out of rhythm and it's frustrating. When conditions are cooler we tend to lose rear grip and stability and at high speed the car lifts. Then we wear out the rear tires in low speed corners and we have no grip because the tires get damaged. Luckily it's done now and tomorrow is another day."

Manuel Lai