“I think the team deserved it” – Fernando Alonso rode his luck in the final two laps after the race restart to finish P6 and earn eight crucial points for Alpine.
Fernando Alonso delivered his best result for Alpine in the Azerbaijan GP, finishing sixth and earning eight points. This was significant as Esteban Ocon had a DNF, meaning Alonso’s points keep Alpine in the mix of the midfield battle with AlphaTauri and Aston Martin.
It was a fabulous race for neutrals, as the top 6 finishers were all from different teams. More significantly, none of them were from the reigning champions Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton lost control of his brakes and went off the track in the race restart. Alonso benefitted from it, as he jumped places during the final two laps to finish P6.
The two-time world champion was so happy with it he even jokingly suggested having more of these two-lap ‘races’. The result helped Alonso move up to 11th in the drivers’ standings, ahead of Ocon by a solitary point.
“We need to think about many two-lap races, you know 25 two-lap races because it was fun.
“People [were] being very aggressive on those two laps because you didn’t need to look after tyres or anything so that was fun and I think the weekend was very solid for us.
“10th, which was our position in the race, was too little reward for what we have done so I am happy with sixth because I think the team deserved it.”
Also read “The motivation is unbelievable” – Alpine boss Davide Brivio mightily impressed with Fernando Alonso
