Successful debut for Fernando Alonso with Toyota at Spa

Toyota couldn’t have dreamed of a better start to the season, even though the way the weekend unfolded once again showed that a small hitch could quickly hinder the progress towards victory, especially at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the main goal of the season.

Thus on Friday, it was car no. 7 that had recorded the best average time during the qualifications. However, this Saturday, it started from the pit lane after being disqualified from the qualifications. The reason? A simple administrative error that displayed the wrong serial number on the fuel flow meter. Therefore, it was car no. 8 that started in the lead, alongside the Rebellion no. 1.

In this context, the path was wide open for Fernando Alonso to return to winning ways. But it was written that nothing would be simple. Thus, at the end of the first hour, the safety car came out to repair the damage caused by a violent crash involving a Ford in the Raidillon d’Eau Rouge. This had the effect of nullifying all the gaps, even though Mike Conway had already managed to climb up to sixth position.

With an intervention lasting nearly half an hour, the teams took the opportunity to perform their first driver replacement, with Fernando Alonso taking over from Sébastien Buemi. The F1 world champion did not encounter any major events during this stint, which was not the case for the third driver of the team. Indeed, Kazuki Nakajima was forced to return to the pits at the end of his first lap to readjust particularly uncomfortable seat belts. Some time later, he made a small mistake, causing him to spin at the La Source hairpin. Fortunately, these two incidents did not affect the final result.

However, there was a new twist as the final hour approached when SMP Racing’s No. 7 LMP1 went off track hard at the end of Raidillon. This was all the more unfortunate as the crew was battling with Rebellion No. 1 for the last spot on the podium. This new safety car allowed Mike Conway to get right behind his sister car. Although he attempted an undercut about twenty minutes from the end, it was decided internally to freeze the result and not take any further risks.

This allows Fernando Alonso to claim his first victory at Spa-Francorchamps since his F3000 win in 2000 and to rediscover the taste of victory, which has eluded him since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix! For Toyota, it marks a fourth consecutive victory, if counting the three triumphs at the end of last season.

If under the checkered flag it was the Rebellion No. 1 of Lotterer-Jani-Senna that got to savor the champagne, it was only for a short duration. Indeed, although the car had already lost time during the race to replace a stubborn FIA transponder, it was ultimately disqualified in favor of its sister car due to excessive wear on the car’s floor.

It remains to be seen if the FIA and the ACO will review the balance of performance before the 24 Hours of Le Mans to narrow the gaps in the top category, since the Toyota No. 7 regained second place by mid-race and the Rebellion cars finished two laps behind the leaders.