Alonso: “My car was flying today!”
The former F1 world champion didn't expect to join the podium, and yet he did! Fernando Alonso was honestly not far from victory.
It was a strangely serious-faced Fernando Alonso who stepped forward for the post-race interview. After finishing second in the Netherlands, following a “very intense race,” the Spanish driver expressed great satisfaction with the performance of his Aston Martin: “My car was very fast in the rain, it was flying today.” Becoming increasingly smiley by the second, Alonso thanked the crowd: “Thank you to the fans, the atmosphere here is unique.”
At the beginning, the Spanish driver had set the 5th fastest time in qualifying. Having started on a dry track, the first corners went smoothly for Alonso, who immediately saw the track conditions deteriorate as the rain intensified.
Rather than pitting at the end of the first lap like some drivers, Alonso preferred to wait and see the situation worsen before coming in to switch to intermediate tires on the second lap. He kept his tires until lap 10, when the track was drying up, and switched to soft tires. This strategy allowed him to regain second place, only temporarily relinquishing it to Sergio Perez and Guanyu Zhou who had pitted one lap earlier. In the end, Alonso reclaimed second place by following Max Verstappen’s strategy.
“It was a very intense race. At the start, with the very wet conditions, we were very fast but maybe we stopped one lap too late. The car was flying today. Very easy to drive and in these conditions, you need to have a car you can trust. The energy from the crowd here is truly unique,” he explained after stepping out of his Aston Martin.
« Two years ago, when I saw this track added to the calendar, I couldn’t have imagined being able to race here and think about getting a podium here. And now I am very happy to share this moment with Max and Pierre. »
« It is one of those Grand Prix races that requires a lot of attention and concentration. It’s very special. I’m happy for Max, and I thought about making a passing move on him, but I reflected and thought that I would have struggled to leave the circuit tonight. » Alonso finished.
