Alonso: My best qualifying of the year

Fernando Alonso feels he maximised McLaren’s potential in qualifying for the British Grand Prix and despite being down in 13^th he's confident of targeting a points finish at Silverstone.

The two-time Formula 1 world champion continued his flawless record of out-qualifying teammate Stoffel Vandoorne on his way to Q2 but was unable to reach the pole position shootout session in 13^th.

Alonso accepts it was likely to be his maximum with the current McLaren MCL33 car but was still thrilled with the result.

“I have no doubts today was my best qualifying session of the all year and the best weekend of the season too,” Alonso said. “The entire Saturday went really well. It’s positive if you consider what our possibilities are, so I’m happy and let’s see if tomorrow we can score some points.

“Our grid position is more or less the same as ever, but it’s a very long track and with the aerodynamic deficiencies we have, we knew what kind of problems we could face here, but we completed a tough qualifying in a relatively good position.

“We’ll start from the clean side of the track with a good chance to score points.”

Alonso returned to the points for the first time in three four races last week at the Austrian Grand Prix with his pit lane to eighth place drive as he looks to lead McLaren’s fightback after a difficult few weeks on and off track.

Earlier this week, Eric Boullier resigned as racing director at McLaren which triggered a management shake-up while the team looks to resolve its technical difficulties with the MCL33.