AUSTIN -- Fernando Alonso is rarely one to downplay his own performances and this weekend has been no different.
After saying he could have done no better than the lap that helped him progress to Q3 on Saturday, the Spaniard retired in the early stages of the U.S. Grand Prix when he suffered a loss of power from his Honda engine. Alonso, wearing the same helmet he wore during May's Indy 500, which also ended in a Honda engine failure, believes the failure spoiled a brilliant display.
"I'm very happy with how the weekend went on a personal level. I think the level this weekend was sublime, both in qualifying and in the race," Alonso said after the race. "The championship standings don't reflect that. "It doesn't change much for me to be 12th or 17th in the championship but on merit I think we should be a lot higher up."
Alonso was left baffled by the timing of the failure, which happened at a circuit where McLaren was confident it could cling on to a points finish.
"In Japan you start last, you are running 15th or 16th after the penalty and nothing happens, the engine works perfectly all race. Now you are running seventh and it starts to fail and you can't believe it."
Reflecting on the consequences of Honda's latest issue, Alonso was left to speculate about engine penalties for the next race in Mexico City.
"Now it's basically certain we'll change the engine in Mexico and therefore another weekend where you start last and it will be complicated to score again."