Fernando Alonso said setting the fastest lap at the Italian Grand Prix offered a small consolation prize at a race where McLaren-Honda was not competitive.
Alonso was running 13th at Monza when an odd decision to make a late pit stop three laps from the end dropped him to 14th on a set of super-soft tyres. Although the tyre change did nothing for his race result, the combination of fresh rubber and a low fuel load allowed him to set a qualifying-style lap and claim the fastest time of the afternoon.
"It was a good feeling [the fastest lap], obviously we had new tyres at the end and the last two laps we maximized the grip, but it doesn't change too much because it was a circuit that we weren't competitive at," he said. "But it was a good sign that the car was performing well.
"In general we didn't have the pace in the race and we were never in the points. We knew, we expected this before coming here so it's just a confirmation. From Singapore onwards I think we should be in the points regularly. Some races like Abu Dhabi and Austin we can be in the top five fighting with Ferrari, so good times are coming."
Alonso's race was not helped by a slow pit stop, when the traffic lights in McLaren's pit lane gantry failed to switch from red to green.
"Yeah, it didn't work. Obviously when you're concentrated on the light you don't know if they're still working on the rear tyres, but it seems the car was ready to go so unfortunately we lost a little bit of time which compromised the second stint, but yeah we didn't have the pace today to be in the points."