The 2023 Qatar GP got off to a great start for Fernando Alonso. At the start, and as the race progressed, the Spanish racing ace overtook and pulled away from the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Lap after lap, Alonso was just chipping away and building a gap to the Monegasque. And as the race settled in, it looked as though Alonso had it all covered. But a few moments later, he pulled off an aggressive stunt that left Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur far from impressed, per RaceFans.net.
Alonso started his race from a respectable 4th on the grid. And as chaos erupted around him, the wily old fox kept his wits about himself and threaded into a cozy position. It wasn’t long after that that he got the jump on Leclerc. From then onwards, it looked as though the Spaniard had the race in his bag, with Leclerc not even troubling the 42-year-old.
Seven years between podiums 🤯
Fernando Alonso’s magnificent return to the rostrum in 2021 in Qatar was a sight to behold! 🥹💪#QatarGP #F1 @AlpineF1Team @alo_oficial pic.twitter.com/RE3wuC1xHA
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 5, 2023
2023 seemed like the beginning of something special for Alonso. He was finally strapped into a car that was deserving of his talents, and the way that Aston Martin had developed since 2022, it was only natural to assume that it was a matter of time before Alonso started troubling the Bulls for race wins and eventually championships. That being said, as the season progressed, the Silverstone-based team fell back into the pack. Alonso’s been trying to get back ever since, but he’s always come up short.
Fernando Alonso catches Ferrari’s ire after pulling aggressive antics on Charles Leclerc
More than halfway into the race, Alonso had a big moment coming out of turn 2. As a result, he lost his AMR23 and wandered into the gravel. Luckily for him, he was able to keep the car running and took to the escape route and back onto the track. Unluckily for Leclerc, Alonso came straight back, at the rate of naught, into the path of the Monacan racing ace.
Leclerc kept his calm, though. There were no angry expletives or blame games going on over the airwaves. After the race, he explained, “Yes, it was on the limit, but I don’t think he saw me at any point.” All in all, it was a pretty mature reaction from the Ferrari poster boy.
😳 Salida de pista de Fernando Alonso.
👉 Los comisarios han anotado la vuelta a pista del piloto español. #F1 #QatarGP pic.twitter.com/O1hVXtvHPj
— OneMotor Español (@OneMotorES) October 8, 2023
However, Vasseur doesn’t expect Alonso to comply. Venting his anger at the moment, he chose to call the 2x champion out. He claimed, “If the roles had been reversed, I think Fernando [Alonso] would have immediately shouted over the on-board radio that this was really on the edge or something like that.”
Despite dangerous maneuver, Alonso escapes with just a slap on the wrist
Even from the TV footage, it looked like a slam dunk, an unsafe rejoining penalty. And the commentators said as much. However, the 2x champion was only reprimanded by the stewards for unsafe and dangerous driving.
Leclerc was quick to back out of the moment and evaded, running straight into the Aston Martin at diabolical speeds. Though both the drivers escaped the incident unscathed, one can only imagine the disaster it would’ve been given the fine margins.
In the end, Alonso couldn’t hold onto P4 or his track position over Leclerc. As the chequered flag was waived at the end of the 57-lap race, he finished in 6th, a second off of Leclerc.
