Saturday’s joy in Montreal turned into a nightmare on Sunday. And the praises of Fernando Alonso turned into complaints after seeing a podium vanish as a result of a breakdown.
Fernando Alonso gave an exhibition on Saturday in the classification of the Canadian Grand Prix. Without a doubt, the rain was crucial for the second position on the grid to be possible.
But the Spanish driver’s car had already been very competitive on Friday, so a dry race did not ruin the hope of get a podiumtaking into account that Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc left very late.
Thus, the main rivals for that podium were the Mercedes. And, while the car went well, Fernando Alonso showed the ability to keep them under control. But the hope was short lived.
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no electrical power
And it is that, when the first third of the race had not even been completed, Fernando Alonso it began to lose power in its engine, as the electrical part was not working properly.
“We had an engine problem on lap 20, the (electrical) power was cut off very early on the straights, as soon as we came out of the corners.. We tried to fix it but it didn’t work. Fortunately we didn’t withdraw the car and even so we added some points”, explained Fernando Alonso.
“Until that moment, I think we were fighting for the podium. I felt strong compared to Hamilton. We didn’t have the pace of Verstappen and Sainz, but it was enough to control Hamilton in the Mercedes.”affirmed the two-time world champion, who rode comfortably in third position until the problem appeared.
“Then virtual safety cars…lucky or unlucky, that could change the race. But we could still be fighting for P3, P4. But then when the engine problem came, I just tried to survive, to stay on the DRS. I drove like a kamikaze through the corners before detection, because the DRS was my only protection on the straights.”said Fernando Alonso, who did not benefit from the appearance of safety cars either.
In fact, the first started when he had already passed the pit lane and ended just before he got to it again, so he was unable to take advantage of changing tires during that period.
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One hundred times faster than Ocon
Despite everything, Fernando Alonso managed to stay in the points, even fighting for sixth position with Esteban Ocon at the end of the race.
But his lack of power prevented him from overtaking him and the team asked him to hold his position. Alonso’s response made his frustration clear: «I have been 100 times faster than Esteban all weekend».
“I couldn’t pass Esteban, it was very frustrating, my car was flying this weekend,” Fernando Alonso recalled to the press. “I had a second deficit on the straights and I was still faster in the race. It’s amazing to finish P7.”
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“Another reliability problem only in car 14. It is disappointing. I’m here trying to be better than sixth and seventh. If we don’t finish on the podium or fourth, it’s because we had a reliability problem in car 14 », he declared, visibly disappointed.
And it is that Fernando Alonso has already used four engines this season, exceeding the limit allowed by the regulations when only nine of the 22 Grand Prix on the calendar have been disputed.
“Maybe unlucky with virtual safety cars, but luck can’t be controlled. Reliability in car 14 should be a bit better.”settled Fernando Alonso.
To make matters worse, then came a penalty that left him definitively in ninth position. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong.
Font: pitpass.com
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Photos: Alpine F1 Team