Alonso repaying Vandoorne with Monza towing

Fernando Alonso says he’s helping McLaren-Honda team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne by towing him down the long straights in order to maximise his opportunity in qualifying, after the Belgian driver produced a similar feat for him at Spa.

During both free practice sessions at Monza the pair of McLaren-Honda drivers practiced towing, with Alonso allowing Vandoorne to run behind in his slipstream down the back straight, in order to give his team-mate an extra boost of straight-line speed to compensate for its lack of power from the Honda engine.

Alonso is set to start from the back of the grid for the Italian Grand Prix, having picked up a 35-place grid position penalty for engine changes, which means he will sacrifice his qualifying in order to aid Vandoorne who can profit from a number of other drivers who also have grid penalties to serve.

“We were able to conduct some useful towing practice ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying session,” Eric Boullier explained. “On a track so notoriously fast and power-hungry as Monza, we have to utilise every tool we have in our armoury tomorrow to give ourselves the best chance on the grid for Sunday.

“There are other cars that will also be out of position due to penalties, so it’s all to play for.”

Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz all have grid penalties for the Monza race along with Alonso.