Fernando Alonso: the advantage of choosing your tire strategy in 11th place
Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button made the most of their single-seaters today, finishing 11th and 13th, which will give them the opportunity to choose their starting tires and have a different strategy to try and score points to consolidate their sixth place in the Constructors' Championship.
The double world champion finishes in 11th place, just outside Q3 today, but he analyzes his session and acknowledges that it was the maximum he could achieve today and that it’s not such a bad position: « I think an 11th place was probably the best position we could dream of having today in terms of race strategy. We will choose the tires we want for the start of the race and we will be on the right side of the track. So one could say that things went our way today. »
Good qualy position today with free tyre choice for tomorrow!! Let’s hope that translate in good… https://t.co/EcHHbrW3SE
— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) 29 octubre 2016
However, the Spaniard notes that unlike previous races, they were not able to break into the top ten: Unfortunately, we weren’t fast enough here. A few races ago, we were regularly in Q3 and could fight for 7th or 8th position, which is good. But here, we are fighting for the 9th or 10th place.
The crucial challenge now for him and his team is to understand why they are having issues with their pace. He continues on the key factors for tomorrow’s race: « Tire degradation will be decisive. We will all be in a haze about this. So we will need to be flexible and open to race strategies. Then we will see what we can do. »
On the side of the 2009 champion – 13th on the grid – the same discourse, being at the edge of the top 10 was the best result he could hope for today: Honestly, 11th and 12th is probably the best scenario possible for us. It would have been perfect for the race. But 11th and 13th isn’t so bad, especially starting from the clean side of the track and having the choice of our tire strategy. (…) When you’re in the top ten, 9th or 10th, it’s not a good thing because you’re stuck if you’ve used the super-softs in Q2. It’s difficult then to preserve them. That’s why I think we’ll have a better strategy tomorrow.
Jenson Button now looks forward to the upcoming race: « With a bit of luck, our race pace will be better tomorrow than our qualifying pace. We’re not in bad shape. I’m looking forward to the race. »
Eric Boullier’s men believe that there is a real advantage in being able to choose their starting tire strategy, potentially giving them wide-open opportunities towards scoring points. And they may not be wrong, considering the changing behavior of the cars and the tire degradation, especially with the fastest specification.
