Fernando Alonso Hoping for a Good Fight in Hockenheim

McLaren driver Fernando Alonso is fully fit after a non-stop run of races in F1 and WEC took its toll. Alongside F1’s maiden Grand Prix triple-header, Alonso also squeezed in a hectic week at Le Mans in June.

But after a week of glorious R&R, he is raring to get back behind the wheel in this week’s German Grand Prix. The round returns to the F1 calendar after missing 2017.

“I enjoy racing at Hockenheim and have won there three times so it’s great to be back,” he said. “We know this weekend won’t be an easy track for us but we’ll give it our best as always.

“The track is viewed as one of the classics. It’s fun to drive and there are a couple of overtaking opportunities, and an extra DRS zone this year.

“Hopefully we can fight with the cars around us,” he added.

McLaren’s new sporting director Gil de Ferran is confident that the team might have an advantage over its rivals this weekend.

“Given that none of the teams have visited this circuit for two years means Friday will be a busy day on-track for us all,” he said. “We [will] work hard to correlate our sim work and fine-tune our package.

“Both of our drivers have experience at this track and its revered as a real racer’s circuit.”

Alonso has had points finishes in seven of the first ten races this season. Most of the time, he has to claw his way back through the field from a poor starting position.

“We know we need to work on our qualifying performances to give ourselves the best chance on Sunday,” he said.

“We need to work hard, and do as much as possible to adapt our set-up for each of them to maximise our chances.

“But we’ve also seen that during the race we can push forward and secure points, so the aim is to achieve the same in Germany next weekend.

“The next couple of races before the summer break are on very different tracks,” he added, with Hungary on the horizon at the end of the month before the hiatus.