Fernando Alonso seems to be one of the few drivers smiling after Las Vegas delivered a treacherously wet qualifying session on Friday night. He achieved an impressive seventh-place start for the grand prix as several drivers struggled in the poor conditions.
“More fun than what I thought," the Spaniard said on his rainy Friday session. "Even one hour ago when I jumped in the car, I thought it could be an extremely difficult session because even on dry tyres we don't have much grip on this track.
"And I thought it's going to be a long evening, full of red flags and incidents and things like that. And nothing happened. So the track conditions and the tyres worked really well, better than expected. We had a fun session, it was nice to drive and I did enjoy it,” he said.
While several drivers described the Strip as close to undriveable in the rain, with the word 'sketchy' being thrown around by many, Alonso added that he'd faced tougher conditions in the past.
“I was expecting that level of difficulty, but as I said, maybe it was not that difficult. I think there are places like Austria, I would say Brazil as well, with some of the rivers crossing the track, that we have this groove, tarmac and things like that, that has been more challenging than today, if I say so. As I said, it was not too bad.”
Both Alonso and his team-mate Lance Stroll launched an immediate attack on the top of the timesheets as they made the most of a cautious start from the pack.
“Lap one, that's our strength," he laughed. "The others, they have the car to take it easy, build their confidence lap by lap. And then in Q2, the track is a little bit drier, they keep pushing. In Q3, the track is a little bit drier and you finish in your natural position, more or less.
"But in Q1, we took some risks. The team was very spot-on on the tyre choice. We were very competitive, but we knew that we would fall back a little bit in Q2 and Q3. But anyway, P7 was unthinkable, probably two hours ago, before quali.
"Today, I'm extremely happy and proud of the team as well, and we take this P7.”
Photos from Las Vegas GP - Practice and Qualifying
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
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Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
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Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
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Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
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Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
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Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
Las Vegas GP - Friday, in photos
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