McLaren-Honda’s Fernando Alonso thinks being pushed on the grass by Carlos Sainz on the opening lap of the Mexican Grand Prix compromised his chances to score points.
Lining up 11th and behind the Toro Rosso driver on the grid, Alonso enjoyed a good getaway and drew alongside Sainz only to be forced off track by his fellow Spaniard.
That loss of momentum condemned the two-time world champion to a long afternoon around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with Alonso eventually crossing the line in 13th position.
“We could have passed Sainz during the first lap, but he says he didn’t see me when he pushed me onto the grass,” the 35-year-old said. “I nearly spun in the middle of the field, it was a strange move from his side.
“That compromised our race, at least the first part of it. We stopped earlier because we spent 40 laps behind Carlos without being able to overtake. Both our cars were stuck behind him, so we tried to split the strategies and this time it was my turn to try a two-stop strategy.
“In the end we ended up in the same positions, Jenson and I. but if the first lap had gone down normally maybe we could have fought for points.”
With team-mate Jenson Button finishing 12th, McLaren-Honda endured a difficult outing in Mexico. Although both drivers had announced high goals for the British team in the final races of the season, Alonso is now scaling down the ambitions.
“The race was boring without any real battles, as it’s so hard to get close to the car in front in this track and even more to overtake.
“It’s not a very nice result, but we’re not fast enough and need to improve for the next time.
“We were outside the points, so we have to improve for Brazil, but we haven’t been really competitive for a while so I think we have two tough races to go before the end of the season.”
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