Grand Prix of Canada – Alonso: « The podium was a possibility »
Starting 2nd on the grid, Fernando Alonso finished the race far from the podium in Montreal.
In the rain, Fernando Alonso had shown the extent of his experience and talent to qualify in second position. The Spaniard was ahead of his compatriot Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari by one tenth. Although, during the Saturday press conference, Alonso declared his desire to give it his all to take the lead in the race, it didn’t go as well as the two-time world champion had hoped.
Quickly left behind by Max Verstappen during the first three laps of the race, Alonso then lost second position to Carlos Sainz. Managing to stay close to his compatriot, it was the virtual safety cars that crucified the Alpine driver. Despite two interventions, Alonso never took advantage to pit and had to go through the first part of the race with worn-out tires, while his rivals took the opportunity to change theirs. It also turned out, towards the end of the race, that the Alpine number 14 had an engine problem. These two combined issues prevented Alonso from catching up with Charles Leclerc towards the end of the race, while the Monegasque was stuck behind Esteban Ocon.
During the safety car period, Alpine made a double pit stop. Esteban Ocon then never gave any opportunities to his garage neighbor to regain the position. In addition to finishing behind Verstappen, Sainz, and Leclerc, Alonso also finished the race behind the two Mercedes. A real disappointment for the native of Oviedo who had the potential to finish on the podium at the start of the race and ultimately ended up in 7th position. This is the third time this season that the Asturian bull has finished in this position.
It was a complicated race. From the 20th lap, we had an engine problem that caused us to lose a lot of time on the straights. We were losing almost 1 second per lap. So, it was very difficult to keep up with the people in front, like Leclerc. A podium finish was a possibility, so it’s really a shame.
After this performance, Alonso enters the top 10 of the driver’s championship. Alpine maintains its 5th position in the team standings and has gained valuable points on its rival, McLaren. Only 4 points separate the two teams (65 for McLaren against 61 for Alpine). But most importantly, the French team seems to be getting their car to work better and better. Since the Miami Grand Prix, at least one of the two Alpine drivers has finished in the points.
