An exciting race for McLaren in Sepang

« It was really a very exciting race for us, with lots of great battles! » These are words we were no longer used to hearing from Fernando Alonso.

Starting last after accumulating penalties for changing multiple elements of his power unit, the Spaniard finishes the race in a miraculous 7th place. Thanks to race circumstances, of course, but also due to an aggressive race, a performant car, and a perfect strategy: Starting from the back of the grid, gaining quite a few places at the start, and, fortunately, avoiding problems in the first corner… I’m still quite surprised by my position. We had some debates on the radio about the strategy to adopt. Be aggressive or rather conservative? We finally decided to attack and take advantage of the set of Soft tires we had saved from qualifying. The last virtual safety car intervention surely played in our favor as it allowed us to use the last set of new tires.

A virtual safety car that rather ruined the race for his teammate, Jenson Button, who started from 9th position and finished the race behind Alonso: « I was really unlucky with the virtual safety car. The cars behind me were on a three-stop strategy, and I was on a two-stop strategy. Then, three laps after I pitted, there was a virtual safety car, which meant they were all able to gain 15 seconds on me for free. It’s a shame…but luck hasn’t been on my side for these last few races. »

Despite everything, Button’s driving in his 300th Grand Prix still impressed McLaren’s sporting director, Eric Boullier: « Fernando benefited from our aggressive three-stop strategy and drove with all his fire and bravery to make up 10 places in just the first lap. But Jenson’s driving in his 300th Grand Prix was no less impressive. He was just unlucky. »