Fernando Alonso reckons McLaren could score points on Sunday if the race proves to be one of attrition – which practice would suggest may be the case.
All three practice sessions saw various mistakes with drivers running wide on the low-grip surface, whilst many ended up glancing the walls.
The Spaniard, who despite starting on the back row after a 40-place grid penalty, is hopeful of scoring McLaren's first points if they have some luck on their side.
"We did a good job today in terms of preparing for the race: we only used one set of tyres, put in low fuel and did some checks," he explained.
"We know we’re not competitive around here, but the race is going to be long and demanding. We’ve seen many mistakes from almost every driver, and we need to avoid making any of those tomorrow.
“In these kinds of grands prix, we need to try and finish the race, get some data for the team, and keep developing the car.
“We need to make sure we keep away from the walls tomorrow. Let’s also hope we can end up in the points."
Racing director Eric Boullier is also aware of the opportunities available in the race if mistakes are as frequent as they were on Friday.
"We’ve seen spills and incidents in every session so far this weekend, so we’ll be aiming to capitalise on every opportunity to move up through the field. We are still racers, and we’ll be giving it everything tomorrow."
