The new sprint format, which features a single free practice session over the weekend before double qualifying and double races, will be tested for the first time in Baku before being used in a further five races this season.
The Spaniard, who was able to enjoy an Aston Martin in great shape at the start of the championship, finished on the podium in the first three rounds. However, the Baku weekend represents a stressful test for the team, not only for the peculiarities of the city track, but also for the format.
The fear is that the challenges this weekend offers are not an opportunity to advance on the grid, perhaps exploiting some bad luck from the other top teams, but rather the chance to make a mistake and ruin the weekend. With so little time left between sessions, heavy contact with the walls could cost a lot in the weekend economy.
“It’s very easy to make a mistake,” Alonso said.
“I think in the end, in Q3, we all did the tests and we’ll optimize the lap. But in Q1 if you brake late or something else, especially here in Baku where there’s no room for mistakes, you look bad. So I think this weekend is an opportunity to make a big mistake, not a big opportunity [di ottenere un vantaggio]. So we have to avoid it.”
“When you have a competitive car, there’s just things to lose in a different format or a wet race or qualifying or whatever, there’s just things to lose. So that’s the difference I find now compared to previous years.”
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team with his engineer
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Looking ahead to the weekend, Alonso believes that the lighter rear wing that Aston Martin will race with could be an advantage over previous rounds. However, at the same time, the Spaniard believes the team should also be prepared to settle for a points finish if the new additions are unable to compensate for some of the car’s weaknesses.
“I don’t see an opportunity to take advantage or capitalize on anything unless Red Bull makes some mistakes. So this is a weekend to avoid mistakes, not a weekend to do something special. So it is an aspect that we must approach with great caution”.
“Here we have our low-downforce winger to try and get a little more top speed, but we don’t know if that’s enough or not to keep up with the top teams.
“I think the season will get interesting, but we are aware that if we are sixth or seventh in one of the weekends, we shouldn’t take it and perhaps this is our natural position.
“But we won’t give up the hope of continuing to challenge Red Bull, especially to try to win a race,” added the two-time world champion.
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