The intense final phase of the 2021 Formula 1 season has earned Fernando Alonso a podium that he has not enjoyed for seven years. The Spaniard keeps his feet on the ground for the last two races.
The end of the season is being exhausting for the Formula 1, whose members have had to face three consecutive Grand Prix on two continents, completing 20,000 km. of trips between Mexico, Brazil and Qatar.
So it is not surprising that Fernando Alonso He will celebrate his podium finish at Losail by taking a flight home to take a well-deserved rest before tackling the last two races of the year in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.
“We come from a podium in Qatar, but we must keep our feet on the ground”
The Spanish pilot has spoken of his 98th podium being well aware that it is a result that should not be taken as the norm for the last tests of the year and has once again established the modest goal of the points.
“I celebrated it by taking a flight back home, it had been three weeks of racing”, Alonso began saying when asked about his great result. “Something of celebration with the team, I was very happy with the podium because we had lacked the luck or the benefits to achieve it before. Qatar was a great moment and I hope I don’t have to wait another seven years to get on the podium, and that next year we will be able to fight more podiums.
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“We come from a podium but you have to keep your feet on the ground,” he reiterates, already focused on this weekend’s race at the new Jeddah circuit. «We know that the objective here is once again Q3 and to get into the points. There are three DRS zones, but as with all urban circuits it will be difficult to follow the cars and overtake. There are many unknown elements, knowing if I’m doing well or not is complicated, “he admits.
Fernando Alonso is usually good at new circuits, but the Asturian is aware that opportunities arise for all drivers. «It is always a greater challenge to find a new circuit because you have to constantly improvise, in practice and in the race. It gives more opportunities, but not just for Alpine or me, but to change the natural order of cars. In Bahrain we did tests and then a Grand Prix, so there were no surprises. In this case, there were, “he concluded, recalling what happened in Qatar.
Alpine retains fifth place in the constructors’ championship with 137 points, 25 more than its direct rival, AlphaTauri, and with Aston Martin already far behind, 60 points behind.