In Spa, Alpine could still clearly distance its long-term rival McLaren, but in Zandvoort the French racing team not only experienced a disappointment off the track (keyword Piastri), but also a sporting debacle on the track. Because none of the drivers was able to move into Q3 in the Netherlands.
While Lando Norris comfortably finished in the top 10, Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso surprisingly got stuck in Q2 in 12th and 13th. Fernando Alonso in particular was very angry and quarreled with Sergio Perez, who is said to have stood in his way on his fast lap.
“I was sixth or seventh in every session, including Q1. And in Q2 I was half a second faster on the second try at turn 9 than on my previous lap, but then there was a misunderstanding with a Red Bull in front of me and we got lost a lot,” he says angrily. “The pace for Q3 was there, but unfortunately we’re not there.”
“If that happens in Q1 then you still have a lot of time and also on the first try in Q2 – then you still have a try. But when the moment of truth has come and the track is the fastest then it’s annoying when you have traffic,” says the Spaniard. “But it is what it is.”
Although Alpine will only start from 12th and 13th, Alonso wouldn’t necessarily say the car is significantly worse than it was at Spa a week ago: “In Q1 I was sixth on the first try, Carlos [Sainz] Seventh, so we’re not that far off – at least on my side of the garage,” he says. “I think the other side had more problems.”
Team-mate Esteban Ocon doesn’t blame the traffic, but says he had problems with the rear axle grip. “And we seem to be missing a bit of pace compared to the weekends before,” said the Frenchman. “We’ll definitely look at that.”
Hardly any overtaking opportunities in Zandvoort
But he remains in a positive mood: “We have been in worse positions in the past and the points are not far away. The weekend is far from over,” said Ocon. “We’re hoping for more overtaking maneuvers tomorrow and, as always, we’ll do everything we can to drive a solid race and get both cars back into the points.”
Alonso knows that Zandvoort is not a track “where you don’t want to start in the top 10”. Because the track is known for the fact that there are hardly any overtaking opportunities. But sports director Alan Permane relies on the modified DRS zone, which now begins much earlier in the steep curve. “That should make overtaking possible,” he says.
Nevertheless, Alonso remains cautious: “I think you still need a big pace or tire advantage to overtake,” said the Spaniard. “It will be just as difficult as last year. But there’s nothing we can do about it now.”