Alonso: Australian GP "probably the best race of my life"
McLaren-Honda's Fernando Alonso, who was forced to drop out late on, said the prospect of a 10th-placed finish had been a "pretty big surprise".</br><a title="Nadal-Anderson live stream online: US Open Final" href="https://en.as.com/en/2017/09/10/other_sports/1505046248_642325.html">Nadal-Anderson: US Open Final</a>
Fernando Alonso has said Sunday's Australian Grand Prix was arguably his best ever performance until he was forced to retire in the closing stages.
Having qualified in 13th, the McLaren-Honda driver was in 10th place and in line for a surprise point in the opening race of the 2017 season.
But Alonso, who finally started from 12th after Daniel Ricciardo was given a grid penalty, was forced out when his suspension failed with seven laps left.
"It was probably the best race of my life until that moment," said the Spaniard.
Alonso: "Few times I've had such an uncompetitive car"
"Few times I've had such an uncompetitive car, without any winter preparation, having to save fuel in a brutal way - I think we had to lift about a second per lap.
"And even so we were in the points. It was a pretty big surprise what we were doing, but in the end we couldn't complete it.
"But it was probably one of the best races I've had," the 35-year-old concluded.
Vettel wins opening GP of 2017 season
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel beat Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to triumph in Melbourne and top the initial championship standings.