Alonso ‘not proud’ of lap for P12 in Mexico GP qualifying

Fernando Alonso says he is not “totally happy and proud” of his Mexican Grand Prix qualifying effort, despite turning in a lap good enough for 12th on the grid.

The McLaren Formula 1 driver split the Force India duo of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez to claim his best qualifying result since the Singapore Grand Prix.

It also marked a significant improvement from McLaren’s fortunes on Friday in Mexico, as both drivers languished towards the bottom of the timesheets throughout practice.

“The lap was not perfect,” Alonso said. “We had understeer in high speed corners on the last set of tires. I was not totally happy and proud of the lap.

“Realistically speaking, being P12 is much better than what we thought, and being out of Q1 in the last 4 races.

“So today going back to Q2 and starting 12th is a good starting point.”

While he was not entirely satisfied with his Q2 lap, the Spaniard believes McLaren is well-positioned to score points for the first time since Singapore.

“The long run pace was quite optimistic,” he explained. “If we are already starting in a good position the race should be good. Maybe the points are closer than the previous grands prix.

“The Hypersoft will be a tyre that requires some management and let’s see what we can do with the choice we make, the people out of the top 10.

“Hopefully we see the chequered flag and some points.”

McLaren teammate Stoffel Vandoorne continued his dire run of qualifying performances in 2018 as he was knocked out once again in Q1.