Alonso “lucky” to finish 5th at the German GP

The German Grand Prix was an opportunity for Fernando Alonso to achieve his sixth top 5 finish this season, at the end of an eventful race which he compares to the British Grand Prix: « There were battles like at Silverstone and it adds excitement. Certainly, we were beaten for the podium, but we are getting closer. For now, we are trying to score as many points as possible to help the team », comments the Spaniard after the race.

From the 57th lap to the 67th lap, Alonso and Ricciardo engaged in a tumultuous battle for 5th place, narrowly won by the Spaniard. He recounts their confrontation: “For the last stint, I was fighting with Ricciardo, I had to save fuel, I had the option to give up the position. I decided to fight him and manage the fuel as best as I could. In the last lap, I had to save as much fuel as possible, I was lucky there weren’t 100 more meters on the track. He was very intelligent and very respectful of the rules; he was a great opponent,” he said to Skysports.

« We had the opportunity to attack Ricciardo with slightly fresher tires in the last part of the race, so I think the strategy of stopping earlier or later amounts to the same ». The former Renault driver discussed his last stop at the end of lap 56: « We had the super-soft tires for the last stint, which were the same tires we used in Q2, so we couldn’t stop very early. I believe that, inadvertently, we played into Vettel’s hands ». The German indeed finished the race 4th on a set of worn soft tires, eight seconds ahead of the Alonso-Ricciardo duo.

The rain was expected in Germany, but it never arrived. For driver No. 14, it wouldn’t have made any difference anyway: « At the end of the race, the rain could have appeared, but it wouldn’t have changed the standings ».

Alonso considers himself lucky to finish in this position: « We were lucky to end up in 5th place, let’s not forget the early race collision between Massa and Magnussen that allowed us to gain 2 positions. »

He also reflected on the constructors’ championship where Scuderia Ferrari was displaced from its 3rd place by Williams: « We lost some ground to Williams, who are currently on the podium. We only have one car finishing the races in the points, we need to improve for next year ».

Fernando Alonso is currently 4th in the World Drivers’ Championship with 97 points, holding a 6-point lead over Valtteri Bottas and trailing Daniel Ricciardo by 9 points. Kimi Räikkönen is 12th with 19 points, 10 points ahead of Jean-Éric Vergne and 10 points behind Sergio Perez.