Fernando Alonso was left speechless after the F1 Australian GP where after looking like to be in the Top 5, he ended up with no points eventually.
Right onward from practice, Alpine and Alonso looked to be on pace in F1 Australian GP weekend. Their pace only solidified after the fourth DRS zone was removed ahead of FP3, as the Spaniard looked like a genuine Top 5 finisher in qualifying.
He made it into Q3 and his lap looked a good one until the crash in the final sector which ended all hopes of a decent start. He was 10th still, but the damage was already done, not just to his race but also his hands which he injured a bit upon impact.
He chose to go long in the race using the hard compound for his first stint. For once, it looked like a decent strategy and recovery, but for his pit stop where he came out behind AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly whom he passed already on track before.
Naturally, he was frustrated to in a position where had to fight for the last few points and in doing so, he found himself in a DRS train of cars. The push degraded the medium tyres to a point that he started losing places in the last few laps which forced him to pit again.
That sealed his fate while teammate Esteban Ocon managed to score yet again despite not looking on pace with Alonso all-weekend long. Post-race, the disappointment and dejection could be seen on Alonso’s face while he spoke with the media.
He noted about being speechless and luckless. All through the 2021, Alonso spoke at length about not being in luck to make the most of a moment in the race and that, whenever they are in good position, something happens and when others are, they cannot use it.
He felt Australia was again a situation like last year. “Starting 10th and yeah the safety car came in the wrong moment of the race,” said Alonso to TV media. “That was our killer, so a little bit speechless because I think we could have been in the podium to be honest if we qualified Top 4 on Saturday, with Max out and George on the podium.
“I think we’ve been a little bit faster than the Mercedes this weekend. So, we lost an opportunity in Australia and also in Jeddah when we were doing a very good race. So it seems the way it is at the moment, a little bit unlucky but 20 races to go and some of them I will be super lucky, I guess,” summed up Alonso, who reckons Imola will be a big test.
Alpine is likely to bring upgrades especially on the floor side which will help them gain some performance. “I think it’s going to be a real test for us because it’s quite slower compared to the last two events and we will see if we can keep this performance but I think we need to see also in Imola, we will see some upgrades for everyone, so we will see how fast we can be,” summed up Alonso.
Here’s qualifying crash for Fernando Alonso: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2022-australian-gp-qualifying-alonso-blames-hydraulics-after-crashing-into-the-wall.1729615027094076752.html