The Italian Grand Prix was incredibly tough for McLaren-Honda, where they were significantly outperformed by every other 2015 power unit which finished. A late retirement for Fernando Alonso denied a battle between himself and Jenson Button, which was a shame from a fan perspective. On the plus side for this weekend, the Singapore Marina Bay Grand Prix circuit does not feature too many straights. On the downside, it is the toughest and longest race on the calendar, which may prove problematic from a reliability perspective. However, should the cars finish, points should definitely be a target. The team will also be without their reserve driver Kevin Magnussen, who has injured himself in a cycling accident.
2015 Singapore Grand Prix McLaren Preview
No. 14 Fernando Alonso
Form: R/10/5/13/18
2014: Grid: P5; Race: P4
Alonso is perhaps best known at Singapore for his controversial win back in 2008. However, his record is generally really strong here – a podium in the unfancied Renault in 2009, a Grand Chelem in 2010 and top fours for each of the next four years makes this statistically one of Alonso’s strongest circuits. If Alonso can keep up his streak of never finishing outside of the top four, he will be doing incredibly well. If we have a race of high attrition as we saw with Hungary, and with the walls being incredibly close, who knows what result Alonso could pull out of the bag?
No. 22 Jenson Button
Form: R/R/9/14/14
2014: Grid: P11; Race: Retired (power box)
Jenson Button has got solid form around F1’s night race, boasting two podiums in 2011 and again in 2012. He retired from the race here last year – his first at the event, and he will be looking to finally beat Alonso on the track. As a test of endurance, being able to simply get the car home will be a challenge, but with McLaren expected to do better than at Monza, Button must be thinking of closing that significant points deficit to Alonso – especially if his team mate’s car gives up.
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