The British team and Japanese manufacturer had been braced for a tough weekend at power track Circuit Gilles Villeneuve but their recent momentum added to the turbo upgrade they brought to Montreal still gave them some hope.
Despite having made it into Q3 for the third time in a row, Alonso could not build on his promising qualifying performance and had to settle for a spot on the cusp of the top-10 positions.
“It was a tough race as we didn’t have the pace to be competitive,” the double world champion said. “We tried our best but we have to improve for the next one.
“The worst thing was the lack of pace and the lack of speed on the straights, but we knew that before the race. I guess all our direct rivals went for two stops and they were going a lot faster than us.
“We opted to go for one stop and did more than 50 laps with one set. I couldn’t really attack but it was the best strategy for us. We were trying to get one point, nearly got it when [Nico] Rosberg spun at the chicane [on the final lap], but it was not to be.”