F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Singapore 'exhilarating' when you get it right - Alonso

As everyone awaits Fernando Alonso's decision on his future, it's business as usual for the Spaniard who heads to Singapore with high hopes of achieving a good result.

McLaren-Honda has left the European season behind with a string of disappointing performances, although to be honest it was just more of the same for the Woking-based outfit which is enduring another dismal year. 

"We knew the double-header of Spa and Monza would be difficult for us, but three DNFs out of four was still really disappointing," says Alonso in the team's Singapore race preview.

"Still, we showed better pace than we anticipated, even though we could convert that into points.

"We’ve now put the European season behind us and we turn our attention to the fly-aways which signal the final chapter of the season."

Beyond the lack of tangible results, improvements have been in the works at Honda, McLaren's troubled engine partner.

Alonso sees an opportunity to shine under the Marina Bay flood lights given the specifics of the demanding street circuit and the qualities of his MCL32 chassis.

"Singapore is a great place to start, as it’s one of the circuits on the calendar that suits our package better than others, and gives us a real chance for a more positive result.

"Singapore is a bit like the Monaco of the East. It’s a glamorous street circuit right in the centre of the city and the atmosphere is incredible.

"It’s tough – hot and humid, and hard on the cars and drivers. It’s really fun though: bumpy, tight and challenging, but exhilarating when you get it right.

"You need a car with good traction on the slower corners and a high downforce set-up, so we definitely have a better chance there – we just need to make sure we also have the reliability."

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Michael Delaney

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