Alonso qualifies seventh in Barcelona; "Once again it underlines the car is pretty good and how good he is," says Martin Brundle
Sunday 14 May 2017 13:26, UK
Fernando Alonso proved once again how special a driver he is by qualifying seventh for the Spanish GP, the Sky F1 pundits say.
Following a troublesome Friday in which he left the Circuit de Catalunya to play tennis during Practice One after his car broke down after two corners, Alonso secured struggling McLaren-Honda their first appearance in Q3 this season.
Can McLaren keep Alonso for 2018?
During commentary, Martin Brundle said the two-time world champion had produced the "lap of the weekend" to get out of Q2.
But the Spaniard improved further during the top-10 shootout to secure seventh place, ahead of the two Force Indias and Williams' Felipe Massa.
Brundle believes Alonso's performance demonstrates once again that McLaren have the basis of a good car but the Honda power unit is letting them down.
"He just rags the thing around. From all sorts of problems, he still wants to show the world how special he is," Brundle said after qualifying.
"I doubt it will do him much good come the end of the race frankly with the fuel efficiency and other issues he'll probably encounter. Once again it underlines the car is pretty good and how good he is.
"He just carries speed and he can control the car while the thing is moving around, front end, back end.
"It's slightly sad that we're celebrating P7 for McLaren. That's not what we remember them for but from little acorns, great oaks do grow."
Alonso described his starting position as a "gift" but his performance once again brought up questions about his future, with his contract at McLaren expiring at the end of the season.
"First of all he gets through to Q3 and then he goes out and finds another few tenths. I compare him to Nigel Mansell. You can see him draw all his energy and puts it into the lap," 1996 world champion Damon Hill said.
"It's a big question [where he goes if he leaves McLaren]. He might have actually done himself a bit of a disservice because if they're getting up into Q3 they might actually be improving.
"He's a superstar of the sport, we need him."
Brundle maintains that his only option may be a third stint at Renault.
"I think his only option is as a works Renault driver again. As I understand it I don't think he has a slot anywhere near a Mercedes or a Ferrari. I think all his deck chair and paddle tennis stuff hurts. If you're [Mercedes chairman] Dieter Zetsche, you'd be thinking 'do I want that?'"
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