At the restart in Zandvoort Fernando Alonso came really close to Max Verstappen again, but it wasn’t enough for an attack – The Spaniard explains the reasons
For the first time since Montreal, Fernando Alonso made it back onto the podium at the Dutch Grand Prix, beaten only by Max Verstappen. The pair were separated by 3.7 seconds at the finish, but a late red flag left Alonso still contemplating a possible attack.
“I thought about trying for the restart,” revealed the Spaniard. “I thought about that a lot during the red phase. I thought about what the possibilities were and, of course, I had a manoeuvre in mind in turn 2 or also in turn 1. I also discussed it with the team.”
“But I didn’t want to jeopardise any important points for the team, because second place was also very important,” Alonso explained further. “At the restart I tried to be side by side at least in turn 1, but I wasn’t that close.”
“After that I tried different lines – inside, outside – in case one of the lines offered a bit more grip. It was close, but just not enough,” said Alonso.
Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack had expected Verstappen to attack, but says: “If he had seen a chance, I’m sure he would have tried. But we also have to remember who we are up against here. And then you have to think, do we give it our all now or bring it home. “
Helmut Marko admits: “The pulse was very high “
Alonso’s advance was enough to make some people at the Red Bull control room queasy for a moment. “It got a bit tight at the end,” admits Helmut Marko. Our car, especially Max’s car, took longer to warm up the tyres. Maybe it’s related to the tyre pressure.”
“That’s when Alonso got alarmingly close. But after one lap Max had it under control confidently. The pulse was very high. Especially when the gap was only 0.6 seconds at one point and Max also had a little swerve in there. “
Even though it wasn’t enough in the end, Alonso is more than happy with his race: “It was a very intense race. Obviously we were very, very quick in the beginning in wet conditions. We stopped maybe one lap too late, just like the leaders. But the car was really flying.”
“It was very competitive, very easy to drive. In these conditions you need a car you can trust and I had that trust. We did a couple of manoeuvres as well – at turn three at the start against Alex (Albon) and George (Russell), and also on Lando (Norris) on lap two.”
It was the manoeuvre at turn 3, a steep corner, that caused most of a stir. For while Russell and Albon opted for the drier line further up the corner, Alonso pulled to the inside and down despite the onset of rain.
Another Alonso start to add to his highlights reel DutchGP @AstonMartinF1 pic. twitter.com/qBAiT0GJWt
– Formula 1 (@F1) August 28, 2023
The idea came to him on Friday: “It was FT1 or FT2, it was wet, and in one of the outlaps I had a couple of cars pull on the normal racing line and found a lot of grip on the inside just letting people pull.”
“So I had it in my head all weekend that it could be wet. I was ready to give it another go and to be honest: When we were on the grid and the red lights came on for the start of the race, there were a lot of drops on the visor,” explained the 41-year-old.
“I figured everyone would be a little cautious in turn 3 with the grip level and the inside line might work, and yes, I passed both cars. “
Aston Martin now as strong as before?
Whether this result – and its pace in the race, thanks in part to some upgrades – means Aston Martin can now return to its strong form at the start of the season is something Alonso is not yet able to say, however. “It’s too early for that. But I think the car is better than in the last races, that’s for sure. “
“I had the feeling that the car was easier to drive, as I said. We were more competitive. We were in the top five in every session this weekend. It wasn’t just in the race that we were fast. But Monza is a very different track, there is minimal downforce. So we’ll wait and see.”
Nevertheless, they are taking “a lot of positives” from this weekend, says team boss Krack. “Hard work pays off. The lights didn’t go out for us in July. We did an analysis. We made new parts for here.”
“There will be more to come for Monza, for Singapore. We don’t want to slack off there. Of course, you have to be careful not to overestimate it, one race. After all, it was very, very changeable conditions all the time,” Krack knows.
“From that point of view, it would be naïve to think that Zandvoort is now a stocktaking. So we have to see what the next races bring, but it will definitely be positive.