Fernando Alonso’s five best overtakes in 2023

2023-11-08 16:50:27

Fernando Alonso celebrated with rage. With the trophy clutched, his right fist clenched and a fierce scream. It was not be for lowerly. In Brazil, Alonso returned to the podium seven races later, when it seemed that Aston Martin had completely stalled. The car was competitive again and the Asturian driver heroically took it to the podium, holding off Checo Pérez’s Red Bull for 15 laps and returning the overtake on the last one to beat him by 53 thousandths. One of Alonso’s best overtakes this season, but not the only one.

With the last two races of the championship remaining, the Asturian driver has managed eight podiums and, although victory number 33 is resisting, it has left overtakes to remember. These are Alonso’s five best overtakes in 2023:

1. Overtaking Lewis Hamilton in Canada

“Leave it to me,” Alonso said on the radio to his team when he tried to defend himself from Lewis Hamilton with eight laps to go. And he got his way. The Spaniard managed to win the battle against the British Mercedes driver to finish second in the Canadian Grand Prix, only surpassed by an unbeatable Max Verstappen. After leaving the pit lane paired, Alonso managed to stay close to Hamilton until, with DRS, he visualized the best moment. On the long straight before the wall of champions, the Aston Martin driver feinted with an outside, misled the Briton, and threw the car at him from the inside. He did it at the end of the straight, to be able to take advantage of the DRS again and prevent Hamilton from returning the overtake. This overtaking earned him the June award for best overtaking in Formula 1.

???? DO WHAT YOU WANT, FERNANDO ALONSO!!!!! ????

Its on. He is hungry. What an amazing overtaking of Hamilton ????#CanadaDAZNF1 ???????? pic.twitter.com/Ow6nCQ62rS

— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) June 18, 2023

2.To Carlos Sainz in Baku (Azerbaijan)

Azerbaijan was the first circuit where Alonso was unable to taste the champagne after achieving three podiums in the first three races. It was not the best circuit for Aston Martin, but the 14th stayed close to the podium with a fourth place, behind Pérez, Verstappen and Leclerc. To achieve that fourth place, the man from Oviedo invented a great maneuver to beat his compatriot Carlos Sainz. On lap 14, after a Safety Car, the stewards waved the green flag again. In the restart, Alonso came out glued to the red car and, in turn 4, taking advantage of the fact that the Madrid native came out of the previous corner with less speed, he went on the inside. There was barely any space between the wall and the Ferrari chassis, but Alonso got in there to add a fourth place and the lead for the month of April.

WHAT MADNESS! ????????

Spectacular overtaking by Fernando Alonso on Carlos Sainz. What a maneuver! ????#AzerbaiyanDAZNF1 ???????? pic.twitter.com/csxuozbsLI

— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) April 30, 2023

3.A Hamilton in Bahrain

“It was not that difficult”. Alonso wanted to downplay the overtaking with which he overtook Lewis Hamilton. But that advance had a lot of meaning. The first race of the season confirmed that the Aston Martin – Alonso pairing arrived to celebrate successes after the journey through the desert in Alpine and McLaren and to compete face to face against the best. With newer tires and a faster car, the Spaniard got closer to Hamilton and, at turn 10, he put the car inside him to overtake him just before the straight, in an atypical and risky move, but one that worked for him. Many laps later, he also overtook Sainz to add the first of the eight podiums achieved to date, and the award for the best overtaking of March

IT’S COMPLETELY CRAZY
IT’S UNLEASHED

WHAT A PIECE OF ARTWORK THAT FERNANDO ALONSO HAS MADE WITH HAMILTON. BRUTAL ????#BahrainDAZNF1 ???????? pic.twitter.com/2WZW9e8P3L

— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) March 5, 2023

4.Double overtaking in Zandvoort

The Zandvoort track was still wet. In free practice, when he let some faster cars pass, Alonso drove his green car through the bottom of the imposing banked curve of the Netherlands circuit. There, he discovered that he had more grip than he expected. When the traffic lights went out, it was clear to him. Upon reaching the corner, while everyone was passing on the outside, the Spaniard passed underneath, and passed Albon and Russell in one fell swoop to go from fifth to third in the third corner. After the break, Alonso managed to return to the second step of the podium, behind Max Verstappen. It was the seventh podium of the year after four races without getting on.

HELLO GOOD AFTERNOON ALONSO IS COMPLETELY CRAZY! ????????????????????????

Follow the race live https://t.co/DrY0TxnfH2#DutchDAZNF1 ???????? pic.twitter.com/n8nYYM2ptr

— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) August 27, 2023

5.The review of Checo Pérez in Brazil

Alonso was subdued. Resigned. It had been a tough few months at the Aston Martin factory. From the podium in Zandvoort, the car’s performance plummeted. Six races without being among the best five and two abandonments. But Brazil arrived. And the car resurfaced. Alonso was behind Verstappen and Norris throughout the race, but Checo Pérez and his Red Bull – faster and with DRS – were getting closer. He was 15 laps behind, opening DRS, but the Mexican couldn’t. Even with two laps left. Pérez overtook Alonso and everything seemed to indicate that Alonso would be left without a podium. But it was not like that. The Asturian did not give up and, at the slightest mistake from Checo, he brought out his two-time champion’s instinct. On the last lap, he took advantage of the DRS and returned the overtake from the outside, winning the game against the Mexican by 53 thousandths in a photofinish finish. Seven races later, Alonso returned to savor a podium, and in the best possible way, with an ending for the ages.