Poor reliability marred his 2017 season, especially during the early rounds. McLaren's engine power performance was lower than in 2016 and it made the McLaren MCL32 unstable at the rear. Alonso attained a season-high qualifying result of seventh at the and set the 's fastest lap en route to sixth. After taking three consecutive points finishes in the last three races of the season, Alonso finished 15th in the drivers' championship with 17 points. Jenson Button drove his car at the , as he raced in the Indianapolis 500 that same weekend. Alonso was again dissatisfied with engine performance, leading him to publicly criticise the engine and inform Yusuke Hasegawa, the head of Honda's Formula One project, about the matter. Alonso contemplated leaving Formula One to focus on the Triple Crown of Motorsport.