Alonso says FP1 trick the "biggest gain" in Russia
Fernando Alonso says McLaren's smart tactic in first practice for the Russian Grand Prix was the "biggest gain" of the weekend for him.
Under current regulations, the grid order for drivers with engine penalties is decided by the order in which new elements are first used on track.
Alonso, who has replaced his engine and will start from the back of the grid, will line up 16th thanks to Lando Norris - driving the Spaniard's car in FP1 - being first in the queue to leave the pits ahead of the start of the first session of the weekend.
"Yeah, that's the biggest gain we did the whole weekend, four positions in FP1," joked Alonso, who finished in 17th place in today's grid-deciding session.
"Tomorrow hopefully we can fight for points. We know this circuit is tough for us.
"We knew that coming here and that's why we took the penalty, but at Monza we were uncompetitive and we retired the car when we were P11, so I think tomorrow the points is still the target," he added.
Alonso finished half a second ahead of teammate Stoffel Vandoorne despite saying his main focus for qualifying was to assist the Belgian make it to Q2 with a tow.
The Spaniard called the result "a coincidence."
"It was a coincidence because the first lap I did it without the qualifying mode on, without anything and with a lot of fuel, and then the last time we were out on track I was running with used tyres just to give him a tow in the first straight.
"But the positions were already set for tomorrow so we just tried to be within the 107% to avoid problems and after that I tried to help Stoffel.
"He couldn't make it to Q2 but he's starting ahead of me tomorrow anyway."
McLaren tried some extreme set-up solutions in practice in order to try to improve its straightline speed given its known problems with excessive drag this year.
Alonso said the tests proved useful, but admitted it was not enough to make a significant difference on a track like Sochi.
"I think we did improve the car. Definitely we found some solutions that made the car faster, but obviously not fast enough.
"We are still quite down in terms of performance in this kind of circuit."
Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren MCL33, leads Fernando Alonso, McLaren MCL33
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images
Bottas pole makes team orders "difficult" - Mercedes
Verstappen penalised for qualifying infringement
Binotto F1 exclusive: "Each single day" is difficult but Ferrari is united
It’s fair to say that the 2022 Formula 1 season has delivered both the best of times and the worst of times for Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto.
Magnussen still pinching himself about F1 comeback
Kevin Magnussen says he has gained a new appreciation for the privilege of being a Formula 1 driver over the course of his 2022 comeback season.
Lundgaard: Vettel could expect “tough transition” to IndyCar
Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Christian Lundgaard said that four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel would face a hard task adapting to the demands of IndyCar if he wished to make the switch.
Could late rule changes to F1 2023 floors aid bigger teams?
The FIA World Motor Sport Council finally pushed through rule changes to address porpoising for the 2023 Formula 1 season, amid suggestions the late alterations will help bigger teams.
Nicholas Latifi: The under-fire F1 driver fighting for his future
Personable, articulate and devoid of the usual racing driver airs and graces, Nicholas Latifi is the last Formula 1 driver you’d expect to receive death threats, but such was the toxic legacy of his part in last year’s explosive season finale. And now, as ALEX KALINAUCKAS explains, he faces a battle to keep his place on the F1 grid…
The strange tyre travails faced by F1’s past heroes
Modern grand prix drivers like to think the tyres they work with are unusually difficult and temperamental. But, says MAURICE HAMILTON, their predecessors faced many of the same challenges – and some even stranger…
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton's first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time F1 champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24. And now it’s happening again at his current team
Why few would blame Leclerc if he leaves Ferrari in future
OPINION: Ferrari's numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere - just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior.
The other McLaren exile hoping to follow Perez's path to a top F1 seat
After being ditched by McLaren earlier in his F1 career Sergio Perez fought his way back into a seat with a leading team. BEN EDWARDS thinks the same could be happening to another member of the current grid
How studying Schumacher helped make Coulthard a McLaren F1 mainstay
Winner of 13 grands prix including Monaco and survivor of a life-changing plane crash, David Coulthard could be forgiven for having eased into a quiet retirement – but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, in fact he’s busier than ever, running an award-winning media company and championing diversity in motor racing. Not bad for someone who, by his own admission, wasn’t quite the fastest driver of his generation…
Could F1 move to a future beyond carbon fibre?
Formula 1 has ambitious goals for improving its carbon footprint, but could this include banishing its favoured composite material? Pat Symonds considers the alternatives to carbon fibre and what use, if any, those materials have in a Formula 1 setting