2023-11-04 22:11:28
Fernando Alonso has a sparkle in his eyes in Brazil. He has it, and rightly so. Because what happened in Mexico is not happening in Brazil. Because in Brazil this Aston Martin runs. He runs and has rhythm. He has speed. He has what he had at the beginning of the World Cup. Yes, at the beginning of the World Cup in which the podiums came almost with a thought. In the beginning, in Interlagos, he can have a good continuation.
One to close a championship that went awry but that, if what we saw in Brazil continues, may well close as it began. And the AMR23 is back on track. On the path to fighting against the leading teams on the grid.
This is what we deduce at least from what happened in the sprint in Brazil. One that gave continuity to what was seen in Free Practice 1 and in Friday’s qualifying, with that stain of the ‘qualy’ for Saturday’s test. No, it wasn’t because of them. It was because of Esteban Ocon that Alpine lost and collided with Alonso.
That destroyed Fernando’s car. From a Fernando who, in addition, took the insult for who knows what reason from his former teammate on the radio. Starting 15th he reached 11th in a test in which they finished with more pace than McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari.
“I felt pretty fast”
But in the race he doesn’t leave that far behind. In the race he starts fourth, with Lance Stroll third. So he plays the message of optimism. The real message of optimism.
“Hopefully we can fight for the podium, and if not the top 5. The pace was good, but after the incident with Ocon the day was lost. We had to understand the degradation and see if the car was okay,” he says.
And yes, it was good: “I felt quite fast. Faster than Piastri, and Sainz. With a good feeling.”
“In the end we even caught Hamilton. It will be a tough battle with Ferrari, and with Norris who will arrive quickly. Let’s see if we can maintain it,” he says.
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