After a great start in which he gained two positions, Fernando Alonso he piloted smugly, marking the pace of the “mortals”. Ahead, the ferrari, Mercedes Y Red Bull were unattainable and behind him, the Spaniard managed the difference with boots, Norris and his partner Or with.
The two-time world champion Formula 1 He took out the hammer and with the consistency of a clock he was filing the times lap by lap. Everything seemed controlled, everything was good news, we all thought it was done, but everything came to nothing. Suddenly his chronos collapsed and the subjective camera explained what the times reflected. Car number 14 lost power on the straights. It didn’t have eighth gear.
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You might think it’s an isolated fault. One of many circumstances that occur in this type of single-seater where technology is as high as its fragility. It is often thought that luck is distributed, that mechanical problems are divided and that the drivers know that this is part of F1, but it is also often thought that when the river sounds, water carries and that when everything happens to a single pilot…
Errors accumulate. This Sunday’s is just one of the multiple breakdowns that the Alpine car has had this season. The list is very long and starts from the second race in Saudi Arabia.
– Saudi Arabia: Second test of the season. When he was 7th, ahead of his partner Or with, a problem in the power unit forces you to stop. First abandonment of the year in the second race.
– Australia: Third race on the calendar and first time in which Fernando Alonso He shows a pace capable of fighting for the front row of the grid in Saturday’s qualifying. That same day, an oil seal gasket caused his accident in Q3. That piece cost two eurosit cost him every chance in Melbourne.
– Imola: One hit with Mike Schumacher It destroys half the engine cover and causes another abandonment. “Cars are unbreakable and mine is destroyed by a touch”, said the Spaniard, frustrated after arriving at the pits. Neither the car nor Alpine they had nothing to do here.
– Austria: An electrical problem leaves him unable to start the sprint race on Saturday, which leaves him without points and starting last on Sunday. Despite everything, he finishes 10th and saves a point.
– Monza: “Do we have problems with the potency or is this normal?”, he asked Alonso in the middle of the race when he was running 8th. His engineer replied that “everything is ok, from here” and the Spaniard let out a “Wow !!”. After a while, he Alpine He said enough with a problem in the engine water pressure and consummated another abandonment. The streak of 10 consecutive Grand Prix was broken adding up, something that only the two Red Bull have been able to do this season.
– Singapore: One race later, the power unit let him down again when he was running sixth. More points lost.
– Mexico: Another engine problem ends with a seventh position that was more than assured. A cylinder is the final reason for abandonment.
AND YOUR PARTNER OCON?
According to the data provided by the FIAthe companion of Fernando Alonso has not qualified in the race in only two Grand Prix, the one in Great Britain, in Silverstonewhen he was driving 8th on lap 37, and in Singapore, when he was in thirteenth position (out of the points).
The French, team strategies, errors in the pit stop and driving style apart, he has managed to score points in 14 of the 20 Grand Prix, for the 13 of the Spanish and right now he is eleven points behind him.
WHAT DO THEY SAY IN THE TEAM?
Since the first problems, the mood and statements of the French team bosses have always been critical of reliability, but positive of its evolution. “I am confident that we can rectify the reliability problems in the last two races,” he assured once again. Otmar SzafnauerDirector of Alpinewhose speech already falls on deaf ears when seeing what happened on the Mexican circuit.
The words of AlonsoInstead, they are filled with frustration at finding so many obstacles in an outstanding season for the Spaniard, who at 41 years of age continues to show his talent and courage. “It hurts again to think that in one of my best performing years we have lost more than 60 points due to reliability problems”, pointed out the man from Oviedo after his umpteenth fiasco in Singapore. “It is unacceptable, I am very upset”, assured the two-time world champion in that same race.
The Spanish’s words last night pointed in one direction: “Once again, 14 (his car number) stops. Always the 14″evidenced the pilot before the great difference with his teammate.
In the middle of the race, with racing heartbeats and adrenaline rushing, the team radios have been the biggest witnesses to their frustration: “What a season, mate! What a season!”exploded when he saw how his car ran out of power on the straight lines of the Aztec layout.