Fernando Alonso had a disastrous sprint shootout at the 2023 Belgian GP on his 42nd birthday as he only managed to qualify 15th fastest. The Spaniard failed to make it to Q3 because he did not have enough time to set a lap time due to a red flag. Ironically his Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll was the one who brought it out.
Stroll brought out the red flag by crashing into the barriers after taking a massive gamble during Q2. This is because the Canadian was the only driver that put on the dry tires on a fairly wet track. As a result, he struggled comprehensively with the grip out on the track.
🚩🚩Stroll le da su regalo de cumpleaños a Alonso, fuera de Q2 pic.twitter.com/YP3mndNXXY
— F1 México (@GF1MX) July 29, 2023
While Stroll did well to keep himself out of trouble for most of the lap, he eventually failed. Soon after Alonso realized that Stroll’s mistake cost him, he seemed evidently upset with how his own outing got spoiled.
Fernando Alonso fumes after Lance Stroll’s mistake results in his Q2 exit
When asked to explain his frustrations following his Q2 exit in the Belgian Grand Prix sprint shootout, Fernando Alonso replied, “Yeah, we did not even start a lap. So, it was no session for us“.
He was then asked if it was too early for Lance Stroll to try out the dry tires, to which he replied, “I do not know. It is difficult conditions. You need to take some decisions and we were on the risky side in Q2. Me leaving the garage really late and Lance trying the dry tires. And if it works, then everything is fine. But if it does not work, then it is a mistake.”
He is furios🤐#f1 pic.twitter.com/HjSbZvNQCY
— Fernando Alonso FC (@club__alonso) July 29, 2023
However, Alonso’s frustrations were far from over even then. When asked how much can he and Aston Martin recover during the sprint race, he simply replied, “Nothing. Nothing“. Soon after the Spaniard made this remark, a fan also took up an opportunity to take a dig at the two-time world champion.
Lance stroll birthday gift to Fernando Alonso is knocking him out of SQ2#BelgiumGP pic.twitter.com/PTNNHY9OQE
— Fellow Kenyan🇰🇪 (@mu__nga) July 29, 2023
The fan claims that Stroll’s birthday gift for Alonso was to knock his teammate out of SQ2. As for Alonso, it seems that his confidence has really taken a hit recently after having had several poor results following a fantastic start to the 2023 season.
Alonso’s struggles continue after a terrific start to the 2023 season
After the conclusion of the first six races of the 2023 season, Fernando Alonso arguably looked like the happiest man in the paddock as he clinched five podiums in this duration. Since then, he has had just one podium finish, and has put in quite a few underwhelming performances.
In his last three races, the Spaniard finished fifth in Austria followed by a seventh-placed finish at Silverstone and then a ninth-placed finish in Hungary. Moreover, considering how he has started this weekend, things don’t look like they will improve anytime soon.
Alonso will not only start 15th in the sprint race but also will start from P9 at the Belgian GP main race on Sunday. With his weekend having begun so poorly, he will now hope to score as many points as he can for himself and for his team, to carry forward some momentum heading into the summer break.
