Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMcLaren

Alonso rules out McLaren's Q3 hopes

Fernando Alonso says it is "too optimistic" for McLaren to target a spot in Q3 in qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Honda's power unit has been down on horsepower so far this season compared to its rivals, but following constant progress an updated engine this weekend is aimed at reducing the deficit at the high speed Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Having been in the top ten in FP1, Alonso says he doesn't believe it is a true reflection of McLaren's standing in the competitive order.

Asked about a place in Q3, Alonso replied: “That’s probably too optimistic.

"The top ten was just certain factors that helped us. In the second session we were P14, so let’s say something in the middle - P12 or P13 - is what we expect tomorrow.”

However, Alonso is confident McLaren has made another step forward in Montreal even if it's not enough to qualify in the top ten.

“I think it’s always a step forwards, what the team is bringing to the races. Yeah I think we need to confirm tomorrow, obviously when we put it in qualifying mode - the extra horsepower everybody is putting on Saturday - we need to find out where we are exactly because it’s only Friday.

“So far I’m happy with the balance of the car and the power delivery here. It seems that the characteristics of the track are also not perfect to us and position-wise we need to make a step forward hopefully tomorrow.”

Click here for Friday's gallery from the Canadian Grand Prix

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.