Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso has hailed seventh place at the Singapore Grand Prix as a "small win" for McLaren, with the Spaniard securing his best finishing position since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
After failing to secure a spot in Q3 in qualifying, Alonso lined up in 11th place on the grid for the 61-lap melee at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Starting from the sixth row of the grid, Alonso gained two positions on the opening tour of the circuit, benefitting from an accident between Force India team-mates Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon while also finding a way past Renault's Nico Hulkenberg who started from 10th.
Running long into the race on a set of Ultrasofts, Alonso ultimately emerged in seventh place after pitting onto a set of Soft compound tyres following the extension of his first stint where he remained for the rest of the race, securing a haul of six points.
"[I’m] really really happy with seventh," the Spaniard told Sky Sports.
"Normally something happens in front of us but today all six cars finished the race so yeah, P7 is a small win for us and we executed the race to perfection today.
"A good strategy, good tyre selection and yeah, good points."
Finishing in seventh place meant that Alonso was the best of the rest in Formula 1's sole night race of the 2018 season, beating both Renaults, Haas cars and Force India drivers to the chequered flag in what is a competitive midfield battle.
Taking the chequered flag over 103s behind eventual winner Lewis Hamilton, however, meant that, for the most part, Alonso ran on his own for the majority of the race, with sixth-placed finisher Daniel Ricciardo a further 50s up the road for Red Bull Racing.
When asked if the race was just a case of lapping around the 5.063km-long circuit, Alonso emphasised the need to manage his lap times in accordance to gaps on the track, catering for potential safety car periods that could ruin pre-defined race strategies for the Grand Prix.
"We still have to open some gaps in case of safety cars and things like that and obviously we didn’t know when people behind us would stop so we were opening up the gap," he said.
"It was a race, even if we were alone, we were controlling some of the gaps in front and behind and it was not that boring.”
By finishing in seventh place, Alonso has propelled himself into eighth place in the Drivers' Championship, jumping ahead of Kevin Magnussen, Perez and Ocon who failed to secure a top 10 finish at the 15th round of the 2018 campaign.​
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