Alonso: 'McLaren first and second with more power'

Such is the quality of McLaren's chassis that Fernando Alonso believes he would be ahead without his Honda engine's deficit.

The Spaniard failed to make it into Q3 at Spa this afternoon after a deployment issue strangled the power of his engine.

The event triggered an angry reaction from Alonso who yelled 'No power, no power!' on the radio, but he isn't giving up all hopes of a points finish in tomorrow's race.

"We would have liked to be there but in general it was a very positive day," said Alonso.

"In Q2 until the final attempt we were 1.5 seconds off on a track where we know how much we are losing with the engine, so we would easily be in first and second positions."

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"The battery didn't work and I lost six tenths from Turn 11 to 12. I was two tenths quicker than on the previous lap so I would have improved one or two more in the final sector, so we would have been in Q3 without any problems.

"In the end, starting 11th with new tyres maybe gives us an extra opportunity so we'll try to take advantage tomorrow."

It was a sorry and untimely failure for Alonso who had worked in tandem with team mate Stoffel Vandoorne to secure his place in Q3. 

"We had it planned. Next week it will be the other way around because it's my turn. We were trying to take advantage of the penalties, we have to find a positive and try to do the best for the team.

"As I said, if I had been in Q3 with just one set of tyres left, then you aim to be ninth or 10th, so starting 11th with new tyres is not a disadvantage."

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