MEXICO CITY -- Fernando Alonso repeated his assertion that McLaren has the best car design in Formula One after seeing how it fared during its brief appearance in qualifying for the Mexican Grand Prix.
Alonso and teammate Stoffel Vandoorne are both facing a huge grid penalty this weekend and so only took part in Q1. During that session Alonso was just 0.3s off Lewis Hamilton, who topped the session, with a time that would have been good enough for P7 in Q2.
The Spaniard said all of McLaren's encouraging pace was down to the team's chassis.
Speaking in the TV pen after the race, Alonso said: "The engine we had today was from the previous version, because the new one was used only on Friday and is to be kept fresh for Brazil and Abu Dhabi.