Alonso says McLaren to blame for hold-up
Fernando Alonso has blamed his McLaren team for Lewis Hamilton's failure to complete his final flying lap in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix
Championship leader Hamilton was unable to complete his final run after being forced to wait behind Alonso at their final stop for tyres.
Alonso was waved to leave the pits, but the Spaniard waited for some 10 more seconds before he got moving. Hamilton had to wait behind the Spaniard and then crossed the finish line when the time had run out.
Alonso went on to beat his teammate's time and seized pole position for tomorrow's race, but the Spaniard said he was not to blame for Hamilton's problems.
"The team always decides when I have to get moving," Alonso told Spanish reporters after qualifying.
"I know it looks that way because he lost the opportunity to do his lap, but even if I had left those five seconds earlier he wouldn't have made it anyway.
"I think the calculations were wrong. I'm sorry for him but I leave the pits when I'm told to."
Despite the McLaren front row, the mood seemed to be sombre at the British team, with team boss Ron Dennis looking angry when meeting his drivers at the weight bridge.
Share Or Save This Story
Alpine becomes Pramac's main partner in MotoGP
Liberty Media's $4bn MotoGP deal facing EU probe
The story of the 2011 Italian Grand Prix
Alonso explains how the impact of Aston Martin’s upgrades go further than Hungarian GP qualifying breakthrough
Alonso delivers first verdict on Aston Martin F1 car upgrades
Aston Martin's Hungarian GP upgrade is big – but not as big as F1 insiders expected it to be
Is McLaren now a legitimate threat to Mercedes and Ferrari in F1 2026?
Norris: I was better than Piastri in every sense in battle for Hungarian GP victory
Why Hungarian GP pole position was an ‘overachievement" for Norris – and Ferrari still has a better car
MotoGP plans Austin showcase during F1 US GP
The shocking aspect to Antonelli's rapid F1 title-contending transformation
Kay keeps two-wins advantage with Elan spirit in Autosport National Rankings
"We don't want to put tape on anyone's mouth" – F1 boss reacts to driver criticism of 2026 rules
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments