Fernando Alonso's mood was 'uplifted' after scoring points in the Austrian Grand Prix which he didn't expect to get after starting the race from the pit-lane.
McLaren was forced to take their car out of Parc Ferme after Alonso's 'flat-out' attempt in qualifying which saw his front wing break twice in just two corners.
As a result of this, the team had no spares left of the new front wing they brought to the circuit and had to run a modified version of their 2017 wing instead, they also introduced a new old-spec MGU-K.
In the opening stages of the race, Alonso made it clear over the radio he was unhappy with being stuck at the back of the field in 19th place, struggling to pass his rivals.
As the race unfolded with drivers falling by the wayside due to mechanical problems and others suffering blistering on their tyres, the double-world champion utilised his skill and experience to get into the points.
When asked if he was happy with how the race unfolded, he said: "Definitely, I am. I am.
"The front wing we had last year’s front wing, so we didn’t know exactly how it would behave with this year’s car.
"We’re happy with the points, completely unexpected, from the pit lane to P8 is definitely great. In the beginning of the race we were behind a group of cars and we were not able to show our pace.
"The second part of the race, a lot of blisters on the tyres for everybody. We were able to take care a little bit more of the tyres and capitalise on that. So happy for the points, but we still need to find more performance for Silverstone.
"We definitely need to deliver a better performance there and hopefully score more points."
