Alonso: "McLaren should have won in Baku"

McLaren-Honda driver, Fernando Alonso has claimed that the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is the sort of race that he and the the team should be winning. This is a somewhat extraordinary claim, considering the factors in play before the start of the race as Baku is a track that exposes the lack of pace in the Honda engine, and he was starting from the back of the grid after a heap of engine penalties.

His claims are based on the fact that it was a race full of incidents and drama with at least eight different cars ahead of him having costly problems or retiring entirely from the race. He personally felt the team should have more pace to capitalise on the situation in a race where he only finished ahead of the two Saubers and his teammate by the end of the race.

There is also the fact that he was right behind eventual race winner, Daniel Ricciardo, during the first safety car stint, in which the race was effectively neutralised from a tyre standpoint as nearly the whole field pitted for new tyres, further fueling his belief that it should have been a race where a bigger points haul was possible

The Spanish driver said on the race: "In the end it was a race that, in other circumstances, we could have even won it or finish on the podium. I was with Ricciardo when the first Safety Car came out, Hamilton lost the head rest, Vettel got a penalty, the two Force India went off, Kimi retired, so you are automatically in the first two or three positions.

"We should have fought for the win, but unfortunately we are not in this position now, but to collect two points in Baku is something we never thought would be possible. We never thought we would collect our first points of the season here, so they are welcome."

Sam Gale