F1: Reasons for calm and nervousness with Fernando Alonso: “I’m not very worried”

The Spaniard has been away from the podium for three almost consecutive races, but he remains hopeful: “Three weeks ago we were fighting for victory.”

After so many years, Fernando Alonso hide disappointments and joys in the same way. Nobody like him knows that in Formula 1 everything lasts a week, if anything. In front of cameras and microphones, it’s hard to tell if you’re happy, angry, elated, or disappointed. In the first World Cup races, he was betrayed by an uncontrollable smile. Then impossible. Always moderate, always cerebral. But there is a detail that, if observed in detail, in great detail, gives it away. When he is satisfied, he elaborates, allows two or three more questions, answers in English and in Spanish. When he isn’t, he just complies. This Sunday, at Silverstone, he was the first rider with points to leave the mixed zone: a bad seal.

Thanks to the good strategy of Aston Martin, to the punctual appearance of the safety car and his defense against certain rivals, Alonso was able to finish seventh, a position better than expected, but his evolution in the season is decreasing. Perhaps that is the downside of chaining five podiums in the first six tests of the year: later you want more. And the opposite is happening to the Spanish. why?

It’s a bit of everything. Other teams have improved, they have brought new parts that work. This weekend’s circuit was not one of the best for us. And Pirelli has also introduced some new tires and we have to understand them, analyzed the leader of Aston Martin on a cold Sunday. In every way, cold. In the brevity of him he was uneasy, but not much. His situation is confusing: in Montmel, in Spielberg and this Sunday at Silverstone he was far from the podium, but in Canada he even opted for victory. His situation is confusing: despite everything, he is still third in the World Cup, he has never finished worse than seventh and has always been in Q3 on Saturdays in qualifying.

I’m not very worried. The car is better than we expected this year, we fight for things that we never dreamed of in preseason. If we can fight the best it will be fantastic, but you have to see it with perspective. We cannot get stressed if we are not on the podium, we have to relax, he commented and in this line announced a different mood for the next race: We have saved a very difficult weekend and I hope that in Hungary we will be competitive again.

The improvement of others

Actually, if you take Red Bull from max verstappen As a measure, Aston Martin has not taken a step back. The Dutchman, winner of the race ahead of Lando Norris and lewis hamilton, I finished again with a 20-second advantage over Alonso, the same as in Jeddah or Miami. The problem is that other teams have been placed in the middle. Mercedes, Ferrari and even McLaren have improved their cars to challenge Alonso for podiums and thus, depending on the circuit, one or the other celebrates.

On difficult tracks, where the corners are slow, where skill is required, Alonso enjoys his expertise and because the Aston Martin is a pleasant car to drive. On the takeoff runways, where you have to fly, where you need speed, the Spaniard suffers. If someone is faster I can’t do anything. We have to understand and learn. I am not happy with seventh place, but last year the Aston Martins were last here. In Canada we fought for victory and it’s only been three weeks. It cannot be said that we were fast at the beginning of the season and now we are not, claimed Alonso who finished: This seventh place is better than the pace we had.

And he was right. For the first time this year Alonso was able to finish out of the points, out of the top 10 in the race: his partner, Lance Stroll, was fourteenth without suffering any accident. The seventh was a success. In the first section of the race, after another magnificent start, Alonso found himself defining himself against an Alpine rider, Pierre Gasley, so as not to fall to ninth place, but the Spaniard was saved thanks to strategy. Unlike others, Alonso endured, and endured, and endured on the track waiting for what finally happened: a single-seater, the Haas de Kevin Magnussen, caught fire, and the safety car appeared. Blessing. rejoice!

Alonso, who was one of the four who had not yet gone through the pits -the others were the podium dwellers, Verstappen, Norris and Hamilton-, gained several positions and from there, despite the comeback of Czech Prez, seventh. On the last lap he even had to protect himself against a Williams driver, Alex Albón, who also seemed faster than him. There were reasons to trigger nervousness around Alonso, but there are more reasons for calm.