Looking ahead to this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, McLaren's Fernando Alonso believes that the Woking-based team may be in contention to score some points, providing that the team is able to qualify well on Saturday.
In 2017, McLaren has only managed to score 24 points in 18 rounds, the most recent of which came at the Mexican Grand Prix through a 10th place finish from Alonso two weeks ago.
This points haul has left them in ninth place in the Constructors' Championship, 23 points adrift of Haas who lie in a distant eighth in the standings with 47 points.
“This circuit should suit our car better than the last couple of tracks, so we hope we can give ourselves the best chance in qualifying as starting position is very important in a race where a lot can happen," said Alonso, looking ahead to the penultimate round of the 2017 season.
"It’s a really fun track – a short lap with a good flow, and the new cars this year will make it feel even faster.
"During the race, if you can get a good rhythm through the final corner it really helps down the start-finish straight and into Turn One, and then you can attack the first corner going into the next lap. It’s part of what makes this circuit so exciting," he added.
After difficult weekends in Austin and Mexico City, Alonso highlighted the Brazilian Grand Prix as a chance for McLaren to score some much needed points after a torrid season that has been plagued by reliability issues and a lack of power.
"After the USA and Mexico, we’re looking ahead to Brazil and Abu Dhabi with a bit more expectation as we knew those tracks would be really difficult for us. However, Mexico was definitely a surprise and we performed better than we anticipated," he said.
"This will surely be a tricky race and there are always risks to take with the weather and strategy, but if we can start the race from where we should be in qualifying, it could give us a good chance to score some points."
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