Honda deliberately took penalty to help Alonso in Hungary
Fernando Alonso says his massive grid penalty for the recent British Grand Prix was taken deliberately to allow him the maximum chance of a big result in the next race.
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Alonso copped a 30-place penalty at Silverstone, after Honda elected to fit a new engine and turbo plus MGU-H and MGU-K recovery systems to his car after Friday practice.
The Spaniard headed into the British GP weekend already facing a five-place penalty for needing a new battery, but added 25 extra spots to his fine thanks to those extra changes.
Alonso says the extra new components were fitted with the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix in mind, a race that teammate Stoffel Vandoorne has identified as one of McLaren-Honda's best opportunities to score points this season.
Alonso said: "We made some big decisions in Silverstone in terms of taking grid penalties in preparation for this race, and hope that's paid off so we can put ourselves in the best possible position for points this weekend.
"On paper, the Hungaroring presents one of the best opportunities for us this year - the short, twisty circuit means we are less reliant on outright power, and the drivers have to really depend on the capabilities of the chassis to get the best out of the lap.
"The important thing for us, as always, is reliability. Even if our car could perform better in Hungary, we need to have a trouble-free weekend to take advantage of every opportunity for points."
McLaren-Honda currently sits bottom of the constructors' championship, with two points for Alonso's ninth-placed finish in Azerbaijan.
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