F1: The I can and I don’t want to by Fernando Alonso with Stroll: “A good Saturday for Aston Martin”

The Spaniard gave up trying to snatch fourth position from his teammate in the Austrian sprint race despite being in a position to do so

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Fernando Alonsocentimeters behind Lance Stroll in one, two, three, four turns. Fernando Alonso, mounted on the back of Lance Stroll on the straight, with the speed of his slipstream and the available DRS system. And finally Fernando Alonso, at the finish line, fifth, with Lance Stroll ahead of him, fourth. Why didn’t Alonso overtake Stroll this Saturday in Austria?

Since he arrived at Aston Martin, the Spaniard has created a relationship with his partner of close collaboration, a loyalty agreement of the kind that is no longer common in Formula 1. This season, for now, they have met on a few occasions on the asphalt , but in all of them they have respected the position of the other. In Australia, Stroll gave up attacking Alonso’s third place: “Tell him I’m not going to attack, we’re playing the same game.” And in Montmel, the Spaniard returned the words with sixth place at stake: “Tell Lance not to attack, zero risk.” This Saturday the same thing happened, although there was a difference.

On previous occasions, both drivers shared the pace, there was no one clearly faster than the other. This time it was not. Alonso was faster, so much so that at certain points he seemed to slow down: an explicit renunciation of overtaking. Perhaps the distant third year stopped him, Carlos Sainz and more that of the two Red Bulls, max verstappen and ‘Czech’ Prez. Perhaps he was held back by the brevity of the sprint race format. Perhaps the cooperation pact will really lead him to never overtake Stroll throughout the season.

notice for the race

At the end of the test, in fact, Alonso did not want to talk about the relationship with his partner and pulled the corporate manual. “We stayed in fourth and fifth position, which was the important thing. In this race we have taken three points more than Ferrari and eight points more than Mercedes, so it has been a good Saturday for Aston Martin”, commented the Spaniard, knowing that This Sunday (3:00 p.m., DAZN) he will also start behind Stroll, he warned about what could happen: “I hope this Sunday is also good for the team.”

Alonso’s position is actually the most intelligent for two reasons. The first is obvious: Lance Stroll is the son of Lawrence Stroll, the owner of Aston Martin. And a confrontation between the two pilots would create a tension that could shake up the entire project. The relationship between the Spaniard and Stroll senior is excellent, but it would be risky to make him choose. That is why Alonso presents himself with a mentor, a teacher who will lead the team for a few years and then hand it over to Stroll, already more prepared.

But there is another reason: the Constructors’ World Cup. Fans do not usually value the importance of the team classification, but it is certainly very important behind closed doors because of the economic prizes it distributes and the relevance that sponsors give it. For Aston Martin to finish the season in second position only behind Red Bull would be a resounding, gigantic success. And currently the group is third, five points behind Mercedes. Alonso knows that he needs Stroll in that battle and, therefore, also agrees with him.