The man from Madrid achieved his second pole in F1, this time without rain, and will seek to vindicate himself if he manages to hold on to Max Verstappen Alonso set the 9th time, but penalized and will start further back
The great champions know how to grow in difficulty and take advantage of opportunities, and Carlos Sainz did the same in this classification of the United States GP. The man from Madrid did not need to wait to see what the penalties did, such as his own teammate Charles Leclerc or Sergio Pérez, one of his great rivals for the world runner-up position. The Spaniard squared a perfect lap at the right moment: when all eyes were looking elsewhere. That it was his compatriot Álex Palou, McLaren tester and IndyCar champion in 2021, gave the ceremony more substance.
The occasion is perfect for Sainz to vindicate himself. The man from Madrid will start with an advantage over Leclerc, who with the sixth turbo unit announced this Saturday, gives up 10 positions that forced him to try a front row finish to minimize damage. With the rest of the penalties he will not start 12th but a little higher, but it will not be easy for him. The Spaniard will therefore be the spearhead for Ferrari in this race, which in turn is an opportunity and a responsibility. A win here will take a huge weight off his shoulders.
But seen what has been seen, this Sunday can be a party for Red Bull, or a perfect tribute to its founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, whose death at the age of 78 was confirmed moments before the classification was disputed. Although the ‘easy’ route is a double, Sergio Pérez’s five-place penalty makes it a little more difficult but far from impossible. In fact, Verstappen starts as the great favorite to win and thus equal the absolute record for victories in a season, with 13. After winning his second World Cup, he only has to motivate himself to beat records since his work has been done perfectly.
Alonso, penalized, gives Ocon a good review
In Alpine the tension is cut with a knife, and not precisely because the sports results do not accompany. The management of the departure of Fernando Alonso is being worthy of study in the crisis cabinets, just to show what should not be done.
After testing different solutions for the floor in the last GPs, the Anglo-French team announced that they would bring a complete evolution to Austin in this… but not in Alonso’s car. Ocon will be the only one to launch this solution because they take it for granted that the Spaniard, for what remains in the convent, does not want to have much more data than what Aston Martin will already take. So far, from the internal point of view, it is reasonable that they think this and act accordingly.
They have it worse to justify than in a circuit in which the grid determines a good measure of the result (no one has won starting from further away from the first row) that they penalize him. Alonso will mount his sixth combustion engine, the ICE, for which he will penalize five places with respect to the 9th time that he achieved in the classification. The Spaniard will have to come back from there, without the planned improvements and assuming that he will not have any more problems, which, having seen what has been seen, nobody rules out.
Resignation has already become his daily bread, so he hardly noticed much of a difference. Given what it has cost him to keep the car without spinning, something that does not bother him, the show is guaranteed for this Sunday. Between eyebrows, the points… and with some luck, ahead of Ocon. Part with ample advantage, because the French made the most frightening ridicule: he did not even get past Q3. The 18th time he did with the new floor, with the team playing in his favor and with the wind blowing on his back, is a good example that in the end the lion is not as fierce as they paint it. Ocon was not up to the task and that is a problem for Alpine, who need his points to guarantee 4th place in the Constructors’ World Championship. Alonso could not help smiling.
#sheriff #Carlos #Sainz