Alonso: "P7 a great result for the team"

After starting in P13, Fernando Alonso is happy with his progress through the field to score his third consecutive points finish.

McLaren seem to have a much better race car than qualifying car, as Alonso showed for the third time in as many races, when he has failed to make Q3 but has still scored solid points for his team.

The Spaniard sits sixth in the championship, level with Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg. The pair are the top points scorers from outside of the top three teams and are both above the crash-prone Max Verstappen.

Alonso said: “It was a well-executed race from our side – P13 at the start and P11 after the first lap.

“The safety car didn’t play into our hands as we were on a one stop strategy and we’d just pitted onto good, fresh tyres which we were going to take us to the end, but the safety car gave everyone else the opportunity to pit.

“P7 is a great result for the team after a difficult weekend, but there’s no doubt that we have to improve.

“Our pace wasn’t there all weekend and we were still not fast enough in the race.”