Alonso: The conditions were extreme, but we had to endure it

The Qatar Grand Prix was a tough test for everyone, but the McLaren drivers were among those who handled it better than others. Both finished on the podium, allowing the team to close the gap to Aston Martin in the Constructors’ Championship, with Fernando Alonso finishing sixth.

The two-time world champion talked about the difficulties he had to overcome during the race, and some of them were quite specific.

“In the last twenty years this was my toughest race,” Alonso admitted in a conversation with Spanish journalists. – The humidity was higher than the last two days and there was no wind at all. In addition, Lance Stroll and I were bothered by the right side of the seat being very hot due to some ductwork or electronics unit underneath it being overheated.

I felt that the right side of the seat and the cockpit was very hot – it burned not only my back, but also my arm. I asked on the radio if I could be doused with water at the pit stop, but that was not allowed so I had to hold out, even though the conditions were extreme.

This can only be compared to racing on the Malaysian circuit in Sepang, where the Grand Prix was held during the day. In general, it was a very difficult race, and in my opinion special breaks were taken during the matches during the World Cup in Qatar so that the players did not suffer from dehydration in such temperatures.

When races take place in countries with such warm climates, we have to think about what we can do so that we do not suffer more than necessary. But overall I’m happy with how the weekend went.

I came ninth in Monza and Japan, didn’t earn any points in Singapore and when we arrived in Qatar we thought this track wasn’t suitable for our car, and it was unlikely we would earn many points here. However, our car turned out to be more competitive than expected: we were about on par with Ferrari and not so much behind Mercedes.

Points for sixth place are important for the team ranking, but if we talk about the race, I found myself in third place on the first lap and thought it would be possible to fight for places in the top five. But then I had to be upset when I flew off the track, causing damage to the underside of the car, and I couldn’t overtake Charles Leclerc. So although we left the track in good spirits, there was still a taste of bitterness.

In recent months we have had problems with the car’s handling; it is very difficult to drive, because the AMR23 does not behave completely predictably. For example, even if it seems that the grip on the road is more or less normal, it can suddenly disappear. Similar differences occurred in all recent races.

But in Qatar I made a mistake that cost me dearly, not only because it was a corner with a specific configuration, but also because there is a lot of sand on the track outside the racing line.

Regarding the situation in the individual competition, it is unlikely that I will be able to overtake Lewis Hamilton, who is in third place. If the race goes according to the usual scenario, then I think I will not succeed, because as a rule he does not allow mistakes. And even though he dropped out of the race this time, we didn’t earn that many points – it’s not enough to overtake him.

But we keep upgrading the car, so I hope we will have better weekends. I would like to believe that everything will work out in Austin and Mexico City, and that we will be able to get closer to our goal.”