Having not finished in the top ten since the Hungarian Grand Prix in July, Fernando Alonso is hoping for a turn of luck at this weekend's U.S. Grand Prix.
The Spaniard narrowly missed out on points finishes in Malaysia and Japan -- finishing 11th on both occasions. He was taken out on the opening lap of the Singapore Grand Prix, where he believed he could have finished on the podium.
Alonso is confident McLaren can return to the points in Sunday's race if it maximises its potential at the Circuit of the Americas.
"I hope in Austin we can build on the momentum we know we've been gathering behind the scenes, despite not being able to show the results on the final timesheets, and I think there's the potential to score points if we can pull everything together. There are a lot of factors to take into account and anything can happen at this race - we've seen quite a lot of drama both on-track and off it over the last few years - but I'm optimistic we can have a positive weekend if we can maximise every opportunity."
Alonso returns to the U.S. having impressed in the Indy 500 earlier in the year -- where he led 27 laps before retiring due to an engine failure. He will wear a replica of his Indy 500 helmet as a one-off for this weekend's race in Austin.
"I'm excited to head back to the United States. I had a great time over summer there this year with everything going on around the Indy 500, and I know the fans are incredibly passionate and enthusiastic, so I'm expecting a really good atmosphere around Austin.
"The COTA track is a really fun track to race on - every sector is different and achieving the perfect compromise with set-up to suit the constantly-changing characteristics of the lap is what makes the challenge there so unique. COTA is also wider than a lot of the circuits we've been to recently so there are usually some good chances to overtake, which hopefully we can make the most of on Sunday.''