Alonso remains patient with Honda

Fernando Alonso would have liked to test the limits of his McLaren MP4-31 which has developments made by Honda, but the Asturian was only able to complete three installation laps during the first practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps before returning to the garage following to a hydraulic problem requiring a change of Power Unit and inflicting a penalty of 35 places on the double world champion.

“It’s clearly not ideal to only be able to do three laps with a new Power Unit and to already have to change it with the penalties that entails, recognized Fernando Alonso. We still prefer it to happen in testing rather than in the race and it's even worse when we're fighting for points. At least we will learn from our mistakes. »

Fernando Alonso is counting above all on the last test session of the Belgian GP to finally be able to test the true potential of the new features brought by Honda.

“I still haven't been able to test the performance of this new Power Unit because we drove in conservative modes (during the second test session). We'll see how hard we can attack, but I'm sure it's a step forward.", added Fernando Alonso.

Jenson Button shares his teammate's optimism. The 2009 world champion did not encounter any major problems and was able to set the ninth fastest time during the second practice session, 1”3 off the benchmark established by Max Verstappen (Red Bull).

“Honda has prepared new engines for both cars and thus we have more power… I am very happy with the way things are developing at the moment, commented Jenson Button. The last season was very difficult for Honda, the learning process was tough, but it's a good thing to see that the new engine marks a real step forward even if there are still teething problems. These are the rules of the game. We can push the engine further in every race. »

Belgian Grand Prix practice results

Photos from the Belgian Grand Prix