Inside McLaren: Secrets of Fernando Alonso’s unbelievable Baku drive

Fernando Alonso described his drive in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, in which he took a badly damaged McLaren to a seventh-place finish, as “one of the best races of my life”.

Only now, though, can it be revealed exactly how good a performance it was.

The Spaniard slipped under the radar in the immediate aftermath of the race in Baku, probably because events at the front were so dramatic.

But Alonso’s afternoon also deserves exploring.

BBC Sport was given exclusive access to the two-time champion’s car at the McLaren factory as it arrived back from Baku and can reveal the extent of the damage and the effect on its performance.

Alonso himself was shown photographs of the damage to his car on Monday, and said on Twitter: “Now I have no doubt. It was an unrepeatable race.”

It’s not the first time the two-time world champion has talked up his own performances since joining McLaren and being saddled with an uncompetitive car. Without judging the other occasions, though, this time it was undoubtedly justified.

Racing director Eric Boullier, who showed me around the car, said the Spaniard’s performance was “a mega race. What he did is unbelievable.”

Courtesy : BBC
Photo : Sky Sports

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