Fernando Alonso has given a hilarious idea of how F1 can ‘spice up’ the sprint qualifying. When asked what will help improve the sprint qualifying and shootout, Alonso hilariously told Speedcafe, “Red Bulls starting last.”
The Spaniard believes that there is a need to change the sprint qualifying format as most of the drivers that went through Q1 and Q2 in both Friday’s qualifying and Saturday’s sprint qualifying were similar. He stated that eight of the 10 drivers made it to Q3 in both qualifying sessions.
The inaugural sprint qualifying and the subsequent shootout took place last weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez putting in a dominant performance. Barring Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, no other driver had the speed to challenge the Red Bulls.
Alonso gives his take on F1’s decision to reduce practice sessions
Fernando Alonso seems in agreement with F1’s decision to reduce the number of practice sessions as he too believes that there must be more action. The only problem he has with the current sprint qualifying format is that it seems redundant as similar drivers made it to Q3 in both Friday’s qualifying and Saturday’s sprint qualifying.
Alonso is one of the few drivers who seemed to have had positive remarks about this change from F1, as most of the other drivers passed criticism. Among all the drivers that criticized the change, reigning champion Max Verstappen arguably had the most damning remarks.
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The Dutchman asked for this format to be scrapped as he believes it is pointless for F1 to have two different qualifying sessions. He believes that qualifying is a format where the drivers cannot have second chances and they need to showcase their full potential over one flying lap.
Fernando Alonso has an outstanding start to his 2023 season
After several disappointing seasons with McLaren and then Alpine, Alonso could not have hoped for a better start when he moved to Aston Martin at the beginning of this campaign. The Spaniard has already registered three podium finishes and one fourth-place finish after the first four races of the new season.
Consequently of these results, he has scored 60 points and finds himself third in the championship. He is 27 points behind second-placed Sergio Perez and another six points behind championship leader Max Verstappen. After a flying start, Alonso will hope that he can carry forward this momentum into this weekend’s Miami GP.
