After a disappointing Spanish GP weekend, Fernando Alonso made a vow that sounded like a warning to Lewis Hamilton and Co. Alonso didn’t let Aston Martin’s inferiority affect him and promised to “crush” Hamilton and Mercedes at the upcoming Canadian GP. However, Alonso probably forgot that he has a curse associated with the track in Montreal.
The 2023 season has been very strong for Alonso and Aston Martin. They have five podium finishes, all earned by the Spaniard. But in his home race, the 41-year-old just couldn’t find the pace in what was a difficult weekend for him overall as he finished seventh. Hamilton meanwhile, finished P2 and led Mercedes to their first double-podium of the season.
Nevertheless, Alonso was sure that his poor Spanish GP was just a one-off event. In the immediate aftermath of the Grand Prix, he sounded confident that he would easily defeat Hamilton in Canada. As quoted by Formu1a.uno, he said, “I think it’s just one race. And then in Canada, we crush them.”
Admittedly, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff seems to agree with Alonso. Ahead of the weekend, he stated (as per Race Fans) that the track in Barcelona suited Mercedes more than the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal will. Wolff may concede defeat to Alonso even before the race weekend begins. For Alonso, however, the memories of his 2007 Canadian GP outing could be keeping him up at night.
Fernando Alonso’s downfall began in Canada
Today, we all know that Alonso lost out on the 2007 title by just one point. However, the story could have been very different had his race in Montreal not been so disappointing. In qualifying ahead of the race, things didn’t look too gloomy for the Oviedo-born driver. He would have liked to start on the pole, but starting just behind then-teammate Hamilton in P2 wasn’t bad at all.
Soon, Alonso’s weekend turned into a horror-show. On the opening lap of the race, a failed overtake on Hamilton forced him to go wide, allowing Nick Heidfeld to pass him easily. He took damage to his car after he ran wide on turn 1 three more times during the race. Things started getting even worse for Alonso with Heikki Kovalainen, Kimi Raikkonen and Alexander Wurz, all overtaking him.
The final nail in the coffin, however, was added by Japanese driver Takuma Sato, who overtook him on lap 67. This meant that Alonso finished the race in P7 and earned just two points from the weekend. Had Sato not passed him, he would have had one extra point, which at the end of the season, would have made him a three-time world champion.
Takuma Sato on Fernando Alonso, Canada 2007 #F1 pic.twitter.com/MWyNVMuN1V
— Motorsport GIFs (@motorsport_gifs) January 8, 2016
Since his 2007 fiasco in Montreal, Alonso hasn’t won a single world championship. This is a “curse” that people often overlook when talking about how luck was against Alonso’s side during his F1 career. One could even say that things started going downhill for him after this particular race.
Can Fernando Alonso end his Canada curse?
Before making a statement that he will “crush Lewis Hamilton”, Alonso should have kept his 2007 performance in mind. There aren’t many tracks that have been unkind to him, but the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Canada, is definitely one of them.
Alonso has won just one race in Montreal. He finished P3 once in 2010 and P2 in 2013. These were the only three times he ever stood on the podium in Canada. However, with a Aston Martin car that has defied all expectations so far this season, Alonso will be hoping to break this “curse”.
After his disappointment in Spain, he also declared it would be the last time Aston Martin finished outside of the top three in 2023. Whether he stays true to his declaration or not will first be tested at the Canadian GP this coming weekend.
