“We’ll get going, just wait and see”

Zeltweg, Sunday June 21

A difficult and disappointing weekend for everybody at McLaren-Honda.

Starting from 19^th (Fernando) and 20^th (Jenson), both drivers were out after eight laps.

Fernando retired on lap one after Kimi Raikkonen lost control of his Ferrari at the exit of Turn Two. The collision resulted in both cars crashing spectacularly, immediately prompting a Safety Car to clear the debris.

Jenson boxed under the Safety Car to fit Prime tyres, with the aim of running an effective ‘one-stopper’ to the finish. He then took a 10-second stop-go (as part of yesterday’s grid penalty), but was then ordered by his engineers to retire the car as a precaution after suffering an intake system sensor failure.

Fernando remains for next week’s test – he’ll run on Tuesday, with Stoffel Vandoorne running on Wednesday.

JENSON BUTTON, MP4-30-01

“Nothing was broken on my car, but something was wrong – and the switch-changes didn’t make any difference. So the team took the decision to retire the car – we’d fitted a brand new engine this weekend, and we didn’t want to unnecessarily damage it, so we decided to stop.

“Silverstone will be another step forward. Hopefully, we’ll have got rid of our issues so I can have a stronger race in front of my home crowd. And, after that, Hungary is a circuit that should suit us, so we can get a good result there.

“In times like these, you’ve just got to stay positive. Everybody back at the factory listens to our post-race interviews, and both Fernando and I want to keep everyone motivated. We’re in a good place, because we know what this package can achieve, so hopefully everyone will continue to stay strong.”

FERNANDO ALONSO, MP4-30-03

“I got a good start, and made up a lot of places into Turn One and Turn Two. Kimi ahead of me had started on the Prime tyre, and he exited Turn Two with a lot of wheelspin – I went to overtake him and he lost the car to the left, and that’s exactly where I was – so we both went into the wall. Luckily, we’re both fine. It was a strange incident, because he lost the car in fifth gear, so it must have been very low grip.

“We just need teamwork to keep us going: our expectations are clearly higher than what we’re currently achieving, but we’re moving in the right direction. I’m optimistic because I know our fortunes will change very soon.”

ERIC BOULLIER – Racing director, McLaren-Honda

“Murphy’s Law famously states ‘Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong’; as far as McLaren-Honda is concerned, this afternoon proved it 100 per cent correct.

“Having been relegated to the very back of the grid owing to a series of penalties, our drivers started today’s grand prix in 19^th and 20^th positions. Before the race was even a lap old, however, Fernando was out, following contact with Kimi’s Ferrari. It was a pretty big shunt, so the most important point is that no-one was badly hurt.

“A few laps later, Jenson’s race had come to an end also, as a result of an intake system sensor failure.

“These are difficult days for all at McLaren-Honda, in Woking as well as in Sakura, but we won’t let our heads drop. Okay, I admit it, the going is getting tough; but, guess what, when the going gets tough, the tough get going; well, we’re tough, and we’ll get going; just you wait and see.”

YASUHISA ARAI – Honda R&D senior managing officer – chief officer of motorsport

“Austria has been a tough weekend. With such stringent penalties applied, it was always going to be a difficult race today.

“First and foremost, I am relieved that Fernando is okay. As for Jenson’s car, there was an intake
system sensor failure, which limited the power, so we elected to retire the car.

“We know that reliability is still an issue, and it is our priority to improve at every race. We will ready ourselves for Silverstone, including power output updates.”

“We’ll get a lot of answers in the race tomorrow”

Zeltweg, Saturday June 20

Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button respectively set the 15^th and 17^th fastest times in qualifying this afternoon, but will start tomorrow’s Austrian Grand Prix from the back of the grid after each receiving 25-place penalties during this weekend’s event.

Fernando set the 15^th-fastest time, but will receive a 25-place grid penalty. This is composed of fifth ICE (10 places), fifth TC (five places), fifth MGU-H (five places) and a new gearbox (five places). As a result, he will drop to 19^th on the grid, and will serve the remainder of the penalty in the form of a drive-through penalty early in the race tomorrow.

Jenson set the 17^th-fastest time, but will receive a 25-place grid penalty. This is composed of sixth turbocharger (10 places), sixth MGU-H (five places), fifth ICE (five places) and fifth MGU-K (five places). As a result, he will drop to 20^th on the grid, and will serve the remainder of the penalty in the form of a 10-second stop-go penalty early in the race tomorrow.

FERNANDO ALONSO, MP4-30-02

“The car felt good today – the new aero package means it feels more competitive in the corners. It’s just a bit unfortunate that this is a high power-effect circuit, so we can’t maximise everything. Still, we’re moving in the right direction, which is very positive.

“We’ve had a lot of problems throughout free practice, so we definitely need to improve reliability, and we’ll have some extra penalties when the race starts. It’s really a learning weekend for us – we’re running the cars in different configurations – but hopefully that will increase our learning.

“It’s going to be a difficult grand prix – a little bit painful – but hopefully we’ll get a lot of answers in the race tomorrow, and then use that data in the test next week.”

JENSON BUTTON, MP4-30-01

“I was one of the first to cross the finish line in Q1, so everyone had a bit more time to improve while the circuit was drying.

“But I enjoyed it out there – it was actually a lot of fun. When the surface was tricky and unpredictable, I was looking pretty good, but once the circuit dried – and other people found their feet – I was only able to do what the car could do. I think there could have been a chance of getting into Q3 if the conditions had remained mixed.

“I also thought I was going to have a good battle with Fernando tomorrow, but we’ll get different penalties so I won’t be racing him. This just hasn’t been my weekend.”

ERIC BOULLIER – Racing director, McLaren-Honda

“When you embark on a qualifying session saddled with the discouraging foreknowledge that your two drivers will be given a combined total of 50 grid places by way of penalties, it’s not easy to keep one’s chin up.

“But McLaren-Honda is one team, and our esprit de corps is truly edifying.

“Moreover, despite the fact that we’ll start tomorrow’s race from the back of the grid, and notwithstanding the certitude that our drive-through and stop-go penalties will disadvantage us further, there are in fact reasons to be cheerful today, tricky to spot though they may be.

“It’s a fact, for example, that our aero upgrades have delivered a useful performance step, and in future we can expect that positive increment to translate into track position and indeed world championship points. But that won’t eventuate tomorrow, obviously.

“Nonetheless, both Fernando and Jenson will race their hearts out tomorrow, as they do always, which sterling efforts will in my view be rendered all the more admirable by the inevitable fact that they will go unrewarded when it comes to allotting the scores on the doors at the end of the afternoon.”

YASUHISA ARAI – Honda R&D senior managing officer – chief officer of motorsport

“Unfortunately, we had incidents during FP3 that once again limited our running time. While the end results of qualifying were still disappointing, the team effort between FP3 and qualifying to get Fernando back out on track was incredible.

“Although we will suffer from grid penalties tomorrow, I hope that the combination of the power unit and chassis changes will lead to a better set-up for the race.”

“Fernando did a few laps with the new aero package, and his initial feedback seemed favourable”

Zeltweg, Friday June 19

Today was a difficult day for the whole McLaren-Honda team, both drivers being affected by one issue or another.

In the morning Fernando Alonso’s car was sidelined with an electrical harness connection issue, but he was able to resume running once he had returned to the pits, where his car was repaired by the mechanics. He also had a minor gearbox issue.

In the afternoon Fernando tried the suite of aerodynamic upgrades introduced for this race. However, his running was limited, and he was unable to get a proper read on their full potential since he did not get a chance to run on the Option tyre.

Jenson Button, who is not running the upgraded components on his car this weekend, also failed to set a time on the Option after suffering an ignition plug issue while on his first lap using the softer rubber.

Due to the time required to change the part, and the potential of encountering the same problem on Fernando’s car, we brought the curtain down on our programme shortly before the end of the afternoon session.

FERNANDO ALONSO, MP4-30-02

“We had a couple of problems during the sessions today – fortunately, we understand them all, but we lost quite a lot of time on the track while we fixed them.

“I had an electrical connection issue in FP1, then some software issues with the gearbox. Then, in FP2, we stopped as a precaution after Jenson had a problem with an ignition plug. We have new engine components fitted in the car, so it’s better to run safely today and then fully investigate the problems in order not to have any issues tomorrow.

“That meant we lost some time, and we needed some mileage to get a handle on the new aero package and optimise the performance of the car.

“Tomorrow, hopefully, we can recover that time.”

JENSON BUTTON, MP4-30-01

“We had an ignition plug issue which stopped us running this afternoon, which was a shame. Having said that, although we didn’t get a lot of running under our belts, we were still able to improve the car quite a bit between the sessions, which was positive. It would have been nice to run the car on high fuel to see where we stand though.

“Tomorrow will be tricky, because it’s likely that I’ll get some grid penalties. When that happens, you need a Safety Car in the race to bring you back into the game, so hopefully that’ll be the case.

“It’s all about improving, getting the best from what you have, and learning for the next Grand Prix.”

ERIC BOULLIER – Racing director, McLaren-Honda

“Today has been a frustrating one – full of minor problems that, one way or another, managed to limit our running during the sessions.

“Fernando had an electrical connection issue at the start of FP1, which took some time to cure, and then he had a minor gear selection issue towards the end of the morning.

“Nonetheless, he was able to run a few laps with the new aero package, and his initial feedback seemed favourable. It would have been nice to have put some more miles on it today, but we’ll look at the data tonight and push ahead tomorrow.

“Jenson had an ignition plug issue in FP2, and that brought his running to an early halt. We stopped Fernando as a precaution, too, although there was no reported problem on his car.

“There’s plenty of potential in the car, so let’s hope we can get a day of clear running on Saturday to see just what’s possible. Tomorrow is another day.”

YASUHISA ARAI – Honda R&D senior managing officer – chief officer of motorsport

“Heading into this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, we were prepared for the energy management to be very difficult. It’s a short and undulating track; therefore it takes time to find the optimal power unit setting, and unfortunately we lost a significant amount of running in both sessions today.

“During FP2, Jenson’s car started to show signs of an ignition plug issue, so we were forced to bring the car back to the garage.

“Fernando’s car suffered a harness connector issue and then a gearbox issue during FP1. Although his car didn’t suffer from any anomalies during FP2, we elected to bring him in as a precaution.

“We’re hoping that we can complete all of the items left on the run plan during FP3, in the lead-up to a better qualifying.”