Alonso happy with turn-around qualifying performance

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Fernando Alonso declared himself quite happy with his seventh-place spot on tomorrow's Monaco Grand Prix grid following a qualifying session for which the McLaren driver did not have high hopes.

After brake problems plagued his running in FP1 on Thursday, the Spaniard endured another difficult free practice session on Saturday morning, with set-up issues impacting the speed of his MCL33.

McLaren undertook extensive changes on the car for the all-important afternoon run, but Alonso admits that it he didn't know what to expect.

"It's been a very complicated weekend," Alonso said.

"We lost the first session because of the brakes and in the third one the car was handling very strange.

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"The rear felt disconnected from the front. We had problems on the rear in the slow corners and in the fast corners we had problems on the front and that's usually a puzzle that's hard to solve.

"We made a lot of changes to the car and we went out in qualifying like tossing a coin to see how the car would handle," he added.

"We saw quickly that it was a different car, that was handling better and giving me the confidence to attack. Seventh tastes very good now."

Like his top-10 colleagues, Alonso will launch his race on Pirelli's hypersoft tyre, but higher levels of degradation than expected mean that tyre management and timely pit-stops will be paramount in tomorrow's 78-lap race.

"I think the question everybody is asking is the hypersofts, how long they will last and how much trouble they will cause," he said.

"They are not going to pass you, that's for sure, but how long you stay out is always a risk.

"If someone stops and undercuts you, then it's going to be tough. And if you stop early and you are behind a car doing 65 laps on the hard tyre, then you are stuck for 64 laps behind it."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.