Fernando Alonso has hailed his fifth place – McLaren’s best finish of the season – as a “nice little present” heading into the summer break.
The Spaniard started 15th and capitalised on a chaotic race to work his way through the field to eventually finish fifth and secure ten points for the team.
“This was a very good race, and fifth position at the finish is a nice little present for the whole team, particularly as we’re not as competitive as we’d like right now,” he said.
“On the calendar, there are a handful of circuits where we expected our performance to be better – Monaco, Singapore, and here in Hungary, so we knew we needed to make the most of today. Critically, we did just that: it was a chaotic race, and we took advantage of every opportunity that came our way.
“These points are a good way to send the whole team into the summer break, but we need to further maximise our chances in the second half of the season.”
Team-mate Jenson Button also secured a points finish by finishing eighth and he hailed their performance, but warned more steps need to be taken if they’re to repeat such a finish.
“It was a fun race, and it’s great to get points ahead of the summer break. The accidents and penalties certainly helped us, but we still did a good job out there today.
“This is a step forward for us, but we’ll need to take another step if we’re to repeat this sort of result. Equally, the next two races – at Spa and Monza – will probably be difficult for us, but it’s good to see we’re making progress.”
