Alonso does not count on victory: 'Even podium is going to be difficult'

Second place on the grid is more than Fernando Alsono probably expected before the start of qualifying. Not the two Red Bulls, but his Aston Martin gets to start the race from the front row. A handsome achievement, also because teammate Lance Stroll did not even make it through Q1.

Still, Alonso is realistic about his chances on Sunday. "I don't think that we have to target a win, especially after how the weekend went," he said at the press conference. "I think even the podium is going to be difficult, but we do our race. We've been doing this the whole season. We are in a privileged position. We never expected to be here, so every lap we do, every race lap that we will do tomorrow in this kind of position is a gift at the moment."

Once again, Alonso revealed a lot of fun in Formula 1 racing. "I think the team is enjoying it. We will try to pass Checo into turn one, because we love to lead the race in these few laps. After that, we will end up in the position we deserve. If it's P5, it's going to be P5. If it's P7, it's P7. If it's another podium, it will be fantastic, but I think it's going to be a tough race."

The Spaniard expects Max Verstappen to pop up in his mirrors at some point: "Max, obviously, will come eventually in the race quite fast. A lot of things to take care of in the mirrors, but we will do our race. We will score as many points as possible. Our main competitors, Mercedes, they had a difficult weekend so far, so we need to keep outscoring them."