After having tried first-hand a circuit that they had only been able to taste thanks to the simulator, Fernando Alonso was happy with what he saw on the track after the first two free practice sessions on a track yet to be explored.
Although several years late, the Miami Grand Prix has become a reality finally in 2022, just one appointment before the Spanish drivers on the grid, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, contest the home GP in Barcelona.
The American circuit is No. 36 different in the list of the Spaniard in his adventure in the queen category of motorsport, precisely in his GP 339, very close to a Kimi Räikkönen who, with 350 GGPP behind him, is the one who has experienced the most race weekends in the ‘Great Circus’.
positive elements
Both Alonso and his partner, Esteban Ocon, managed to interfere in the Top 10 in Free Practice 2 after suffering in the opening session with a poor grip on the track that, although it improved, is still really low.
“We have focused on improving our race pace,” he confessed. Alan Permaine, sporting director of Alpine. The British leader revealed that they have carried out “some experiments to better understand our long run», the biggest slab that drags the French formation today.
“Our single lap pace is still good”
While in qualifying the A522 seems to perform similarly to those above, which has been confirmed in Miami and therefore “shows that our single lap pace is still good”, the high degradation of the single-seater ends on Sundays with any chance of rescuing a considerable loot of points with which to continue climbing positions in the constructors’ championship.
5th time lucky?
Of the 5 Grand Prix that we have so far this year, Alonso has only scored points in the first one for various reasons. However, the #14 is confident in the face of this new circuit on the calendar.
«It has been a good day for us, learning the circuit and going from laps in the simulator to the real track», affirmed Alonso.
Loading tweet…
1522652108142514176
“There are always some differences, so today was about understanding everything quickly. It’s a layout interesting to drive, I think we’ve had a clean Friday. Now we have a lot of data to analyze, you can see that we all have a lot to improve », he added.
“We have to keep tuning the car; this weekend we are fast again, I think we are in a good positionI am optimistic”, concluded Alonso, eager to be able to confirm in the last and final free practice session a good pace that will allow them to fight for important positions.