The fourteenth scoring round of the championship comes with Alpine settled in fifth place in the Constructors’ World Cup and a Fernando Alonso who is motivated in a test season, waiting to see what they achieve in 2022.
The race weekend at Zandvoort served as well as Max Verstappen regaining the championship lead for a couple of Grands Prix after the Hungarian disaster, Formula 1 fans again expressed his passion for the premier class of motorsport on the same circuit, filling the stands with an unmistakable orange color in the distance.
Those who also enjoyed the return of the Dutch circuit to the ‘Great Circus’ 36 years later were the pilots: practically all the members of the grid praised the particular characteristics of the route, such as its narrowness and the exacerbated banks. Fernando Alonso was one of those who ended up amazed with the atmosphere of the weekend, acknowledging that it ended up being “special” after giving a driving lesson to others when tackling Turn 3.
“In recent years we have built circuits with curves without camber, and now we are greatly surprised by a camber corner. It absolutely helps the nature of racing, accelerating corners, tire management, aerodynamics and everything in between, ”# 14 revealed. «There is nothing really comparable between F1 and Indy; the cant in Indy is much lower, the speed is much higher and the level of downforce is very different, “he compared after his experience in both categories.
“In Indy it runs very low and it doesn’t make sense to go outside, whereas here it was all outside, because there were different lines on the cant. I saw some of the Formula Renault, I think it was a couple of months ago. In Free Practice 1 I tried different lines and they seemed to work well ”, continued the Asturian pilot.
The Magic Track
On his return to Monza, Alonso predicts a “more complicated” weekend due, to a large extent, to a combination of factors. “The first corners are a bit more difficult here, there are not many possible lines. We have to be cautious in a way, because the race is Sunday, not Sunday. sprint of Saturday. Let’s see if we can repeat a good starting lap and go back some positions, because it is key.
Asked for a personal assessment of the format when sprint, Alonso surprised with the request of an approach previously used in F1. “We only had the Silverstone experience and it is too early to evaluate this format. It worked well there, while at Monza it will be more difficult to overtake and the race on Saturday will probably be less spectacular. Still, Formula 1 will have to decide whether to continue with the qualifying format at sprint and for how many races», He detailed.
“I am in favor of all the changes that bring more action on the court for the fans, but if the balance of power between teams does not change there is a risk of see a car train on both Saturday and Sunday. If everything continues as before, we should do something with Friday’s classification, introducing the superpole just one turn. In that case, even the smallest mistake would be paid dearly and the drivers would be forced to give their all to come back.“Alonso pointed out.
Finally, the two-time Spanish champion trusts that his rivals will respect the measures that are put in place to avoid a ‘little train’ that hinders them in qualifying. «Last year a maximum time was imposed on the starting lap to avoid problems with traffic. I don’t know what they will decide for this year, but I imagine that the same rule will be repeated, “he concluded.