Lights and shadows in the bosom of McLaren on the day of the Friday of the GP of the united States. The team, which had planned to test some parts of face-to-2018, has had to cancel part of these tests as a result of the hydraulic problems of the McLaren MCL32 Alonso in the FP1. After the promising fifth place of Stoffel Vandoorne in the FP1, the team has unified efforts in the second session to find the best setups on the car. Neither Alonso nor Vandoorne have finished at all satisfied with the balance of the car.
After closing the FP1 without marking a time and with only four installation laps, Fernando Alonso lamented his fortune: “we Lost the first morning session due to a hydraulic problem. It was quite painful because we had several items to test, even for the next year. We tried to get the day in FP2, but it was difficult. I think we will try these tests in Mexico”.
If we get into Q3, we can start from a better position by the penalties of the opponents
despite the problems, Alonso believes that there is some potential to explore in the McLaren MCL32: “I Think that there is quite a bit to get out of the car. There is still some tenth find, although it is true that all the will find. We know that Verstappen and Hülkenberg are penalized, so that if we get into Q3, we can start from an even better position. If we do not reach the Q3, maybe we can go out-eighths, or ninths, with new rubbers. That would also be very good”.
by way of conclusion, Alonso analysed the path of Austin: “it Is nice to drive on this track with the cars this year. It is much more fun, especially in the fast corners in the first sector. There are many more potholes and irregularities with respect to last year, so that there is no other than to strongly tighten the steering wheel and have the seat belt well fastened, although it is a circuit of fun”.
On the other side of the box, Stoffel Vandoorne has completed a positive day: “Has been a Friday reasonable. This morning we are faced with difficult conditions to begin with. At the end the track dried out and we had a FP1 very active with some test parts for aerodynamic new. I feel that I obtained a good performance, especially if I take into account that it is the first time I drove on this track”.
“The FP2 was a little more difficult for me. I had problems with the traffic and does not end up 100% happy with the car balance, although the pace in the long run it seemed reasonable. In fact, I’m a little more happy with our race pace, with our speed over a lap. Tomorrow we have a lot of room for improvement. We know what needs to be done and we hope to be much closer to” has completed the belgian driver.
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