Fernando Alonso said seventh position capped McLaren's best weekend of the year at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Alonso had a quiet but solid race, starting and finishing in the same place as McLaren showed further signs of progress -- though only on one car, as Jenson Button retired with an oil leak. Alonso had been in the top ten all weekend and thinks the result -- the best of the rest behind Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari -- was the best he could have hoped for at the Hungaroring.
"In the end I was seventh also in the race, my position for the whole weekend," Alonso said. "It was a bit of a boring race, from us and for the fans - I think only Jenson retired with an oil issue - but it was a good race for us, where we could score good points.
"We had a good start, we managed to do as many laps as planned with the supersoft tyres and then also with the softs. I'm happy to be best of the rest, because Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari are way ahead of the rest of us. This is the battle we can have, and we did our best.
"In Monaco we were fifth but we were a bit lucky, so I think this was the best weekend we've had this year in terms of pace from start to finish."
Alonso was also able to keep the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz at bay, suggesting Honda's engine is now at leaston a par with the 2015 Ferrari engine. The characteristics of the Hungaroring suit the McLaren car and Alonso says a good result was important given the fact F1 visits Spa and Monza after the summer break.
"Carlos and I had a similar pace, almost in the same tenth, and to be able to pass him at the start was fundamental for the final result. I was on the clean side of track and that was a bit lucky.
"The progression of the team is very positive, we're having a good run now, we'll have another race next weekend, the fourth from this marathon that is July, and I hope we can score points again, at this level, but I think it will be difficult.
"After the summer break there will be some pretty tough races for us, we'll suffer a lot, so we have to make the most out of this kind of tracks to score as many points as possible."