“At the start, I just wanted to get out there. I love racing, and I thought it was safe enough – 17 laps spent running behind the Safety Car isn’t good for the spectators, and it’s not fun for the drivers either. Additionally, I felt it had easily dried up enough for us to start racing – so I’m glad we did.
“It was very tricky out there, particularly at the end. It was pitch black, I couldn’t see much and my tyres were finished. It was a big surprise to see both Red Bulls go out. Fernando [Alonso] drove really well, but I’m very happy to have scored some points after a couple of disappointing races.
“However, ours still isn’t the fastest car: I was losing a lot of time to Fernando, particularly in the final sector. But I’m sure we’ll be working flat-out to fix that back at the McLaren Technology Centre before we head to Brazil.
“We’ve got two races ahead of us – we have more coming for the car, and the guys back at the factory are doing a great job. Everyone is really enthusiastic and is pushing as hard as they can. The championship definitely isn’t out of reach – we can still do this.”
