McLaren likely to suffer at Hockenheim

McLaren struggled to show off on his home turf two weeks earlier at Silverstone. Fernando Alonso was only able to salvage an eighth place, while his teammate Stoffel Vandoorne failed to reach the points.

Fighting for fourth place in the Constructors' Championship with 22 points behind Renault, the Woking stable hopes to regain ground in the fight between the Losange and Haas and Force India.

“I like riding at Hockenheim. I won there three times (2005, 2010 and 2012) and it's good to come back here after last year's break, comments Fernando Alonso. The circuit is considered a flagship event, it is pleasant and it offers some overtaking opportunities, in addition to a new DRS zone this year. So we hope to fight with our closest opponents, (but) we know that the track this weekend will not be easy for us. »

“We know we need to work on our performance in qualifying to have better chances on Sunday, but we also saw that we could increase our pace during the race in order to pick up points. The objective is therefore to do the same this weekend in Germany. »

“The next two races (Hockenheim and the Hungaroring) before the break will be contested on very different tracks, underlines the Asturian. We must do our best to find the best settings on each of them to optimize our chances. »

His teammate Stoffel Vandoorne will compete in a Grand Prix on the German track for the first time.

“Even if this is the only Grand Prix where I have never driven in F1, I was able to get a podium here in GP2 and I obviously have good memories of it, remembers the 2015 GP2 Series champion. We know that the Hockenheim track will be demanding with its long straights which require a lot of power and a well-balanced car for the narrow section in the last sector. The third DRS zone will change things up a bit and promises to make the race more exciting. »

Two years ago, Jenson Button took eighth place for McLaren while Fernando Alonso finished 12th while the Woking cars were still powered by Honda.