“It’s been crazy, this car is very fast and this is another League”, Álex summed up after his F1 debut in Austin
“It seems that he feels confident with the car, which is very positive,” said McLaren director Andreas Seidl.
A smile from ‘ear to ear’ betrayed Álex Palou as he got out of the McLaren at the end of the first free session of the United States Grand Prix. His debut in F1 has resulted in a 17th position and without any incident. And his time could have been better if he had had the opportunity to mount soft tires, like the rest of the drivers, but his team has decided to leave him only one set of mediums and reserve another for the starter Daniel Ricciardo. “He was crazy”, the Barcelona driver repeated excitedly, after experiencing for the first time the sensations of the MCL36 at the Austin circuit.
“I’m super happy. For me it was a dream to drive an F1 and to be able to do it in official training and here, in the United States, it has been incredible. It has been too short, I wish I had had more time”, said Palou before the cameras at the end of the session.
“In the beginning we did everything the team needed and then it was time for me to be more comfortable. The program was not to go for fastest laps. I had already been lucky enough to test the 2021 car before (in Montmeló and the Red Bull Ring in Austria) and that already gave me the sensations. The car is very fast but here you have traffic, you don’t want to bother other drivers and You can’t get me in trouble with Daniel’s car.… the circuit is impressive for an F1, especially the first sector. It was beautiful to drive in Austin & rdquor ;, Álex summed up enthusiastically.
They have asked the IndyCar champion if he would like to see himself more times on an F1 and he has not hesitated: “Obviously, who doesn’t. At the moment, we have already stuck our heads out here”, said Palou, that he considers that with respect to the American series in which he usually competes, “this is another League”.
The statements of @AlexPalou after getting behind the wheel of the McLaren!
“Would you like to see you here?”
“Obviously! Who doesn’t?”#USADAZNF1 ?? pic.twitter.com/dyCX3NYLhl
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) October 21, 2022
According to the McLaren director, Andreas Seidl, palou He has passed the exam with flying colors. “He did a good job, I’m quite happy with how he handled it. The goal today was not to show us the best times, but to gather as much information as possible for the race weekend and try out different set-up options. It looks like He feels confident with the car, which is very positive.”