The F1 Australian Grand Prix was a frustrating race for Fernando Alonso, but the Alpine F1 Team thinks it was “a little faster than Mercedes” in Melbourne and said he could be on the podium.
Fernando Alonso started from the 10th grid after crashing due to a hydraulic problem in qualifying Q3, but he showed a strong pace in the race and was aiming for a corner of the top three.
Fernando Alonso and the Alpine F1 Team choose to start with hard tires. Although he set out to extend the first stint, the drivers around him, who started medium with a badly timed safety car, were able to change to hard tires to run to the end of the race.
Fernando Alonso, who fell out of the points range at the pit stop, lacked stability with medium tires and finally finished in 17th place. I left Albert Park on the weekend with a result that was far from casting.
Fernando Alonso believes he could have been on the podium as Mercedes F1 drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton took third and fourth place.
“We were aiming for 6th or 7th place. We started with hard tires in our reverse strategy. It was good to start on the 10th grid,” Fernando Alonso told Sky Sport F1.
“The safety car at the wrong time was our killer. To be honest, I think I might have been on the podium today and I’m a little speechless.
“If I had passed yesterday’s qualifying in 3rd to 4th … Max (Verstappen) retired and George was on the podium. I think we were a little faster than Mercedes this weekend.”
“We lost that chance here. We had a very good race in Jeddah.”
“This is the current situation and I’m a little unlucky. I think I’ll be super lucky in 20 more races, some of which,” Fernando Alonso added with a smile.
The European season will start from the Emilia Romagna GP in Imola two weeks later. All teams are expected to launch major upgrades in the next three races.
The Alpine F1 Team is competitive early in the season, but Fernando Alonso cautioned when asked if he could continue to compete for the top five.
“Let’s see,” said Fernando Alonso.
“Imola is slower than the last two events, so I think it’s a real test for us.”
“We’ll see if we can maintain this performance, but we also need to check with Imola. I think we’ll have some upgrades for everyone, so we’ll see how fast we are.”
Category: Category: F1 / Fernando Alonso / F1 Australian GP / Alpine