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Formula 1 Spanish GP
McLaren admits Alonso strategy could've been better
McLaren Technology Group COO Jonathan Neale admits that the Woking-based team's strategy calls with Fernando Alonso in the Spanish GP could have worked out better.
Adam Cooper
Edited: May 16, 2017, 3:32 PM
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Having qualified a sensational seventh for the Barcelona race, Alonso was forced off the track by Felipe Massa on the opening lap - and found himself caught in traffic.
He made an early stop in an attempt to find clean air but was then stuck behind the Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat for his second stint.
"Fernando’s launch wasn’t bad,” Neale told Motorsport.com. “He ran off wide in a tussle with Massa, but to be fair to Felipe, it looks like he was watching the cars coming back onto the circuit, so he certainly wasn’t going to be watching in his mirrors at that point.
"So he moved to the outside, and Fernando lost quite a bit of time, and ended up in 11th.
“Fernando had pace, he was quicker than the cars in front, but he couldn’t use it. The strategy team made the decision to try the undercut.
"The problem with looking at race traces, when you can see the whole thing after it happened, it’s very much easier to say, ‘well if I’d known that.’ But at the time, that was the call.
"Then he got caught behind Kvyat. He had three or maybe four goes at him, but he couldn’t get by. I think the answer is we just didn’t have the straightline speed.
"Fernando could gain down the straight, get him into DRS contact, but then we’re so far down the straight you have to back off again. Kvyat was too fast for us."
Alonso was then caught out when he made his second stop right before the Virtual Safety Car caused by his own teammate Stoffel Vandoorne, which proved beneficial for some of his rivals.
The net result was that he tumbled from seventh to 13th at the flag, despite the retirements of Max Verstappen, Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas, all of whom had qualified ahead.
“We pitted Fernando to get him on a different tyre to get him out of that frustration, at which point we caused the safety car [with Vandoorne], at which point we lost more time.”
Vandoorne/Massa a racing incident
Meanwhile, Neale conceded that McLaren was frustrated by Vandoorne receiving a three-place grid penalty for Monaco after his contact with Massa, especially as the incident caused the Belgian’s retirement from the race.
“Stoffel didn’t see Massa, the closing speed down the straight was just huge. I think it was a racing incident.
"The FIA awarded a three-place penalty for Monaco, which is unfortunate. I would have liked to think that, because Massa’s race wasn’t affected and Stoffel’s was, that that was pain enough.
“But if the rules were meticulous, rational, standardised and predictable, a robot would do it, and it wouldn’t be half as much fun talking about it in the press afterwards and moaning about the referee’s decision! So we’ll take our medicine, and move on.”
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