McLaren chairman Ron Dennis admits he found Fernando Alonso sunbathing by the side of the track in Brazil rather funny, despite it happening as a result of yet more reliability troubles for the team.
During qualifying, Alonso’s McLaren came to a halt, but rather than heading back to the pits, the Spaniard chose to find a camping chair to relax in the sun for several minutes.
The images, which were shown on the live feed, spawned a trending hashtag on Twitter #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe, which saw Alonso photoshopped into different locations.
Whilst Alonso’s aim was likely to express frustration – similar to comments he made in Japan comparing the Honda engine to that of a GP2 car – Dennis admits he found it amusing.
“I chuckled to myself, to be honest,” he told the official Formula 1 website. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of humour.
“And Fernando is as hard-working as he is talented, be in no doubt of that. He’s matured enormously since he last drove for us, eight years ago, and he’s now one of the most complete drivers I’ve ever had the privilege of working with.”
