The McLaren team had mixed emotions after the Hungarian Grand prix as Fernando Alonso brought home four points in eighth position, but Stoffel Vandoorne had a gearbox problem.
Vandoorne made a great start, ending lap one in 13th place, just two spots behind his teammate. The team executed a great strategy and the pair were sitting in eighth and ninth positions from just over mid-way through the race. A mechanical issue on Stoffel’s gearbox put paid to any hopes of points to reward his performance, and he retired from the race after 49 laps.
Fernando Alonso
“It was definitely a good Sunday for us and it was down to the pit-wall, as they executed the perfect strategy. They decided to extend the first stint as much as we could, doing something around 15 laps more than the others, and that meant Stoffel and myself recovered three or four positions.”
“We really deserved eighth and ninth places, but unfortunately the gearbox problem prevented Stoffel from taking any points, otherwise it would’ve been a perfect Sunday for us.”
“I’m happy we’ve delivered the result and have scored another four points for the team. Sunday is where it finally counts!”
“Now it’s time to relax, before jumping in a car again mid-August.”
Buen domingo de carreras! Estrategia perfecta y puntos para el equipo. Muy contento!
Good Sunday of racing! Perfect strategy by the team and good points! Happy day! #mclaren #budapest #f1 #14 pic.twitter.com/0aEH8pDcq6
— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) July 29, 2018
Watch what happened when the team gathered to give @alo_oficial a Fernando-moji themed birthday surprise in Hungary ⬇️?. #FelizCumpleaños ?? pic.twitter.com/Us4f7c3fzN
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 29, 2018
Stoffel Vandoorne
“A really disappointing race for me. We had a superb start, after we started a bit further down the grid than we wanted after yesterday, and gained a few places on the opening lap. We had really good tyre management in the opening stint and strong pace when it counted, a good pit-stop and we managed to jump a lot of cars during the pit window. It was a great strategy from the team to come out in the points with both cars and we were feeling comfortable, so it was just about bringing the car home.”
“Unfortunately, we had a technical problem and I had to stop the car. It shows it’s a mechanical sport. It’s disappointing to finish like that but I think as a team we did everything right today. We got ourselves as high as we could and it’s a shame not to finish the first part of the season with a few more points.”
“On a personal note, I felt good this weekend. I think we’ve shown that the pace was back to where it had been before, with a more ‘normal’ feeling, and I can be happy with my performance. I’m looking forward to the summer break, to relax a bit, clear my head and turn up in Spa for my home race.”
