After back to back races in Belgium and Italy, where he retired from both with only a handful of laps remaining, Fernando Alonso has put the European season behind him and heads to Singapore for a race that should suit his Honda powered McLaren a little bit better than previous events.
“We knew the double-header of Spa and Monza would be difficult for us, but three DNFs out of four was still really disappointing. Still, we showed better pace than we anticipated, even though we could convert that into points,” he said.
Despite the recent spate of disappointments, Fernando is aiming to have fun this coming weekend on a circuit where he has previously won, even if it was due to his then teammate, Nelson Piquet, crashing his Renault on purpose to bring out the safety car at a very opportune time for Alonso.
The team boss at the time, Flavio Briatore, was reprimanded for giving the above order, however Alonso was found innocent in the underhanded dealings and kept the victory and points toward hs championship title.
While he may not be in contention for the title this year, Alonso cant wait for the challenge that awaits him this weekend….
“We've now put the European season behind us and we turn our attention to the fly-aways which signal the final chapter of the season. Singapore is a great place to start, as it's one of the circuits on the calendar that suits our package better than others, and gives us a real chance for a more positive result,” he said.
“Singapore is a bit like the Monaco of the East. It's a glamorous street circuit right in the centre of the city and the atmosphere is incredible. It's tough – hot and humid, and hard on the cars and drivers. It's really fun though: bumpy, tight and challenging, but exhilarating when you get it right. You need a car with good traction on the slower corners and a high downforce set-up, so we definitely have a better chance there – we just need to make sure we also have the reliability.”
