Fernando Alonso reveals that Alpine would have got a P3 position in qualifying ahead of the Sunday race had he not crashed.
In the qualifying on Saturday, apart from Ferrari and Red Bull, Alpine’s Fernando Alonso was also flying during the Q3. During his last flying lap in the last round of the qualifying, it was indicating that the Spaniard was heading for a provisional pole.
But his efforts came crashing down when he hit the barriers in sector 3. The crash immediately caused a red flag. However, the projections of that time hinted that Alonso might get an excellent position for Alpine before the race.
According to Alonso himself, he is confident that the French constructors would have got a P3. But, there were a few problems that propelled the veteran F1 driver to hit the barriers.
“I think it’s something hydraulic because I couldn’t change gear and the steering became very, very heavy,” said Alonso. “So I guess we lost the power steering.”
“I don’t know if we could fight for pole…but for sure, top three. I think that lap was good enough for the top three and we had two sets of new tyres. It’s all frustrating.”
“I was probably doing my best weekend in years and fighting for pole position, but whatever it is [in the race] we’ll take it.”
Also read: Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer admits their team is better off not supplying engines to other F1 teams
Fernando Alonso also made Ferrari lose positions
In the qualifying, Alonso’s crash made Carlos Sainz slow down while he was almost set to make an incredible time. This instruction clearly frustrated the Ferrari superstar.
And also made him lose a possible top spot in the grid. Sainz reveals that after the red flag was waived, he found it difficult to warm the tyres for the final flying lap.
Because of that Sainz could only get a P9 spot in the qualifying. Hence, a setback to Ferrari, who is now in a fight with Red Bull for the championship.
Ferrari managed to get a pole with Charles Leclerc. But the two Red Bull drivers are sitting right behind the Monegasque’s neck at P2 and 3. So, Sainz will need to make a perfect start to cruise past the midfield.
Also read: Alpine sense a great opportunity to nip Mercedes for P3 in Constructors Standings
