McLaren 'easy 1-2' without PU deficit - Alonso

Fernando Alonso claims McLaren would have had "an easy one-two" in the first part of qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix without its power unit deficit.

McLaren has been struggling with a lack of performance from the Honda power unit for the past three seasons, with this year starting with reliability concerns that also limited development. With Honda only believing it reached its pre-season target performance levels by the summer break, McLaren simulates where it could be given a Mercedes power unit and Alonso predicted it would have seen the team at the head of the field.

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"The engine was not right on the last run and we lost 0.6s from one straight to another because we didn't have the deployment," Alonso said after aborting his final lap in Q2 and qualifying 11th. "So unfortunately it wasn't the right time to discover this kind of things, but I think the day was positive – the car performed well.

"We know what the deficit is here at this circuit on the power side, so when we were 1.5s off P1 in Q2 that means an easy one-two for us, so it's a very positive day and I'm very happy."

Alonso explained he would rather start from 11th place with a free choice of tires than reach Q3 and start one or two places further up.

"I think it was a very good day for us, a very positive Saturday. I think the performance we saw today was a little bit unexpected for us. How competitive we were, especially in Q1 and Q2 where we were 1.5 or 1.7s from first position which is probably a little bit better than expected. Happy with the car, happy with the balance, happy with the team as we planned qualifying, so a very positive day for us.

"We missed the Q3 spot because we had an issue with the deployment of the engine, but apart from that little issue the day was perfect and even with that I think to start P11 with the new tires and a free choice of tire is preferred to starting ninth or 10th with the mandatory tires, so a very, very happy day."

Asked if any of the unexpected performance came from the power unit or if it was solely down to the chassis, Alonso replied: "Chassis. Chassis."