The 2023 season so far has witnessed Fernando Alonso’s comeback to competitive racing in Formula 1, with the Spaniard finally in a car to suit his skill. With his 32nd and most recent win being in 2013, the two-time world champion famous for dethroning F1 legend Michael Schumacher is stilling gunning for a 33rd first-place trophy.
In the season so far, Alonso has bagged seven podiums to his name, the most recent one being at the 2023 Dutch GP. Currently sitting at P3 in the drivers’ standings, a P2 finish amidst Zandvoort showers meant increasing the point disparity over rival Mercedes superstar Lewis Hamilton.
Alonso widens gap over Hamilton with seventh podium of 2023
After qualifying P5 for the race, Fernando Alonso already stood a strong chance of beating Lewis this race because of Lewis’ poor qualifying position due to an impeding incident with Alpha Tauri pilot Yuki Tsunoda.
However, after the chaos in the first few laps, nobody’s chances seemed certain with further rain expected later on in the race. Nevertheless, Alonso drove valiantly through the field, earning himself the title of “Driver of the Day” to match his P2 finishing position and bonus fastest lap point!
After the Dutch Grand Prix, Alonso stands at 168 points. Lewis’ P6 finish could only manage him an 8-point increase to bring his number up to 156 points this season.
In the post-race interviews that mark the end of a race weekend, Alonso also revealed his aims for the rest of the season along with some insight into what went on in his head at the restart on lap 65.
Fernando Alonso admits temptation to overtake Verstappen at Zandvoort
At the restart, not many could expect that Max’s win could be snatched at the last moment, because of the performance disparity between the Aston Martin and the Red Bull, factoring in Max’s recent form as well. However, of the few that saw this as a possibility, Alonso recently revealed he was one of them.
On this matter, Alonso stated in the post-race interview, “I contemplated the idea of making a move during the final restart. But then I pondered, perhaps I wouldn’t find my way out of the circuit! So, I opted for second place and kept my composure.”
Continuing, he says, “In such challenging conditions, trust in your car is paramount, and I had complete faith in it. So, I relished the experience.”
Finally, he expressed his gratitude for his team and fans, saying, “Two years ago, when this race returned, I never imagined I’d stand on the Zandvoort podium, as I wasn’t in a competitive position back then.”
He also made a surprising claim about being fine with lesser podiums for the rest of the season, saying, “It is more difficult now. I think there is more competition up there fighting for podiums, four teams [Aston Martin, Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari] now fighting quite closely, so yeah, it’s going to be difficult to get another six [podiums] in the second half. But I will be happy with two or three, I hope.”
Do you think Alonso will be able to finish ahead of Hamilton this season? Or maybe even take on Perez, given his form this season? Comment what you think down below!
