The VAR of Formula 1 left without dream of the 100 podiums of Fernando Alonso. The Asturian celebrated his second third place in a row in 2023, but moments after bathing in champagne, the blow came: he had served a penalty badly. Having placed himself wrong on the starting grid initially cost him five seconds of punishment, but a mechanic, the one with the rear hydraulic jack, touched the car prematurely and, therefore, broke the rule. The Mercedes team protested and the FIA, as it did two weeks ago with Esteban Ocon, gave him a final penalty of 10 seconds. From being third he fell to fourth place and his podium was inherited by George Russell.
The Spaniard entered the finish line after Sergio Pérez, who could not take the championship lead because Max Verstappen, whose comeback from fifteenth position allowed him to finish second, did the fastest lap at the last moment. The Red Bulls are unreachable at the moment.
The departure of Fernando Alonso was more than decent, but not legal. Sergio Pérez knew where and who he had to cover, so he did not hesitate to move to the left as soon as the traffic lights went out. It was not enough: Alonso arrived at the first corner in the first position and the fans were already howling. But it was not all over, far from it: Alonso had placed himself in the wrong place. The FIA acted quickly and immediately warned the Spaniard of a five-second penalty, something similar to what happened to Esteban Ocon in Bahrain. In Jeddah he touched the Spaniard, who had positioned himself slightly to the left and, therefore, incorrectly. Unappealable sanction that forced Alonso to have that handicap for later.
As soon as the DRS arrived, Pérez solved his bad start to take first place, while behind the alligator Max Verstappen he still took a long time to climb to the podium, which was his great objective. Not only Alonso was good: in Aston Martin they also celebrated in a big way how Lance Stroll snatched fourth place from a docile Carlos Sainz who suffered more than expected in the first few turns.
Activated plan A
Alonso’s objective was clear: to hold second place. Those five seconds of penalty that he had to take in the pit stop forced him to have a cushion with those behind for the pit stop, something he did with a tactic that was as easy to consider as it was difficult to do: tie himself to the rear of the Red Bull of Perez. The Mexican’s reply was obvious: press to separate from Alonso with a higher DRS margin.
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Meanwhile, from behind, the strategic fight between Ferrari and Aston Martin came out in favor of the former. Those in red were right this time: they bluffed with Carlos Sainz to try to overtake Lance Stroll in the pits and it went well. It was not necessary: the Canadian retired with a brake problem, which brought out the safety car.
This incident benefited Alonso. The Asturian, who had not made his pit stop, was able to comply with the penalty and, in addition, change the tires without that 5-second loss affecting him in the distance with George Russell. The Spaniard remained second and, therefore, the initial penalty came to nothing.
In this incident, the biggest losers were those who stopped in the pits before the safety car like Ferrari. Proof of this was that Sainz lost position with Hamilton, in the fight for fifth place, as soon as the race restarted.
Verstappen, Alonso’s hare
If before the race 2.5 euros were paid, Verstappen’s victory was due to performances like this. The Dutchman passed Fernando Alonso in second position halfway through the race. It was predictable: Red Bull is a world away, although Aston Martin has a more than decent car.
Alonso’s fight was then to hold the podium, reach the 100th of his sports career. To do this, he had to not only keep an eye on Pérez and Verstappen, but also look in the rear-view mirrors so that Russell and Hamilton did not catch him. The Dutchman became a perfect hare for the Asturian, while Russell became his best ally: all the young Briton held onto the seven-time champion was oxygen that he gave Alonso.
Pérez acted from 10. While everyone was waiting for Verstappen to tear the sticks off him, he responded with a hellish rhythm that his partner could only match and little else. In fact, in the absence of action on the track (thanks to Pirelli, once again), it was on the radio.
First Verstappen complained that he noticed something strange in the direction. Suddenly he started going harder than expected, which made her fear the worst. Although they did not determine what was happening, the last 10 laps of the two-time champion were holding their breath. Pérez also began to complain that the brake pedal was behaving strangely. That near miss at Red Bull provoked Alonso’s immediate reaction: he went from lapping in 1:34 to doing it in 1:32. Also because in Mercedes they began to play with the other F1: they warned Russell that, perhaps, Alonso would have an extra 5-second penalty because the previous one had not been correct.
Although Alonso increased the margin by more than five seconds, just in case, but moments after he got off the podium they announced the punishment. Still, for the second straight race, he showed that he’s going to be there with another race that is quite the statement. Red Bull’s second double this year confirms them as the rival to beat without a doubt, but also Aston Martin as the alternative. If at any time they fail, Alonso will be there. The key is that neither he nor his mechanics fail.
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