The Netherlands Grand Prix ended with Max Verstappen as the winner and with Sergio Pérez as the driver of the day, according to fans. However, the F1 sporting director points to Fernando Alonso as the most prominent.
There is no doubt that Fernando Alonso He was one of the most outstanding drivers of the weekend at Zandvoort, maximizing the Alpine’s potential to finish in a creditable sixth position.
And, in addition to doing it with spectacular maneuvers like those on the first lap, he pulled off his own initiative to reach the end of the race in the best possible conditions, which allowed him to overcome the seemingly unattainable Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.
The pilot of the day
Very different was the career of Sergio perez, that after being eliminated in Q1 on Saturday when his team miscalculated the time in his last fast lap attempt, he started from the pit-lane.
Already in the race, the Mexican failed an overtaking on Nikita Mazepin, which smashed his hard tires and forced him to make an additional pit stop. Despite that, Pérez took advantage of Red Bull’s potential to finish eighth after several worthwhile overtaking, being designated as the driver of the day by the fans.
«For once I have to disagree with the fans regarding the driver of the day, since for me it was Fernando, more than Sergio. Sergio pitted and went to the back of the grid because he made a great shot, He made a big mistake again ”, Ross Brawn began pointing out about it.
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«A Grand Prix tries to make the least or no mistake all weekend. You could say that the team was the culprit in Q1, but not making progress in that session with a car like that is not good enough. He is not adding everything up right now. Fernando yes ”, emphasizes the sporting director of Formula 1.
At the start of the race, Esteban Ocon asked Alpine that Alonso let him pass because the Spaniard was too slow. His request was not accepted and, a few laps later, the Spaniard left his teammate and the rest of the group with tires in better condition.
Fernando was a cunning old fox on Sunday. When Esteban Ocon was on the radio saying that he was faster than Fernando, his teammate was handling his tires as he needed at that stage of the race. In my opinion, he had a perfect race. Hunting that extra position at the end of Carlos was brilliant, “concluded Brawn, remembering overtaking Sainz on the penultimate lap of the race.