Friday at the Circuit of The Americas ended productively for the McLaren of Fernando Alonso despite a challenging start.
The morning session began under cloudy skies with drizzle in the air, making track conditions difficult to read and data gathering tricky.
On his first run after the installation lap, the team detected a hydraulic issue on Fernando's car, and his session was aborted while the team investigated the issue and endeavoured to fix it.
They managed to get him back out on track 10 minutes before the end of the session, but weren't satisfied with the fix, and despite a total of four installation laps did not set a time.
For the second ninety minute session, the Spaniard had a stronger outing completing longer runs and making various set-up changes during a number of practice pit stops.
He completed 28 laps of the Circuit of the Americas and finished seventh overall.
โWe lost the first session this morning because of an hydraulic issue, which was quite painful because we had several items to test, including for next year. We tried to catch up in the second session but it was difficult, so I think we'll try them again in Mexico,โ he said. โI believe there's still quite a bit to get out of the car โ still some tenths to find, which I think probably everyone will find.โ
โWe know Verstappen and Hulkenberg have penalties, so if we manage to get into Q3 tomorrow, we'll be able to start from an even better position. But if we don't make it into Q3, and we can start eighth or ninth on new tyres, it could be very good too.โ
โIt's nice to drive on this track with this year's cars. It's much more fun, especially through the fast corners in the first sector. There are many more bumps than last year, so we're holding tight on the steering wheel and with the seatbelt tightly fastened. But it's fun!โ
