Alonso drove a home game in Saudi Arabia

Fernando Alonso crossed the finish line again. The 41-year-old Spaniard once again seemed to finish best of the rest at the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia. Alonso was smilingly honored with his hundredth podium finish in his career on the podium of the street circuit of Jeddah Corniche. To loud applause from the Saudis. As if it were a home game for Alonso along the shores of the Red Sea. And that was partly the case for the best driver of the British Aston Martin. Half an hour later, the race still ended in a minor for Alonso. He was dropped back to fourth behind Mercedes’ Briton George Russell with a time penalty.

Alonso’s race seemed to be playing out in an ideal scenario for the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “What a start to the season,” said Alonso before stepping onto the podium. The world champion of 2005 and 2006 never thought of winning. A second consecutive third place. But it wasn’t to be this time.

The Aston Martin team has already resigned itself to the supremacy of Red Bull at the start of this season. Aston Martin is partly owned and controlled by Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll, with money from Saudi state oil company Saudi Aramco, among others. The sporting goal of Aston Martin and the Saudi regime is the same: to build the best team in Formula 1. They are not there yet.

With Alonso behind the wheel of the green AMR23, the ambitions of Stroll and Bin Salman are already coming together a bit. Both billionaires started three years ago with their grand ambitions to conquer the world through Formula 1. Stroll had entered motorsport two years earlier with the takeover of Force India, but has continued his plans since last year under the name of Aston Martin. The current car of Alonso and his teammate Lance Stroll was still made in the old factory of the brand that participated in Formula 1 as a constructors team in 1959 and 1960. Lance Stroll – the son of the team boss – retired in Jeddah with technical problems. That couldn’t spoil the party of the Saudis. The penalty for Alonso is. Although part of the audience had already disappeared by then.

50 million euros per year

In recent years, the regime of Saudi Arabia, which has been criticized for human rights violations, has made every effort to bring Formula 1 to the country for the first time. And for reportedly 50 million euros a year, the Saudis managed to secure a place on the calendar that features 23 grands prix this year. For example, in addition to the final of the Spanish Super Cup, the Dakar Rally and Formula E, Saudi Arabia has had a race in the premier class of motorsport since 2021. Together with the organization of the 2029 Asian Winter Games, this should be a harbinger for the organization of the World Cup in 2030, together with Egypt and Greece. FIFA will make a decision on this next year.

Stroll’s plan to take over Formula 1 and the Saudi investment program Vision 2030 are accompanied by significant investments. Stroll – who has become rich by investing in clothing brands such as Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors – is working to set up a new factory in the United Kingdom for 225 million euros. It should be taken into use in Silverstone in May of this year. In addition, Stroll took a number of people away from the competition, such as Red Bull aerodynamics specialist Dan Fallows, Mercedes technical director Eric Blandin and Alfa Romeo chief designer Luca Furbatto. Aston Martin’s current cars are a mix of Red Bull and Mercedes, according to Alonso.

For Bin Salman, organizing the race in Jeddah and the sponsorship of Aston Martin (oil company Aramco) and McLaren (futuristic tourist city NEOM) is only the beginning of a larger plan in which Formula 1 should take place in Qiddiya. A destination that should attract visitors from all over the world with art, culture, relaxation and sports competitions. It is much more ambitious than the 1978 project when Williams cars advertised “Fly Saudia” for the national airline.

Switch from Alpine

During the first year of the strategic partnership between Aston Martin and Aramco, the team could not compete with the top with Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll. In 2022, the team mainly profiled itself as a formation that will run on sustainable fuel from 2025. But Lawrence Stroll surprised midway through the season by separating Alonso from Alpine and signing him as the successor to the now retired Vettel. The Spaniard appears to be an almost perfect match with Aston Martin and the Saudis.

Alonso surprised during the preparation for the season, in Bahrain, by being able to compete with Mercedes and Ferrari. However, the car was not yet fast enough to make it difficult for the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez. Alonso therefore celebrated his third place in the first grand prix as a victory. His last real win was in 2013.

Before the start in Jeddah, Alonso was already resigned to a new battle between the best of the rest. He started his 357th race from second place and immediately took the lead from Pérez, but it soon became clear that the Aston Martin team had cheered too soon. Alonso turned out not to have parked his car properly before the start and was therefore given a five-second time penalty. Alonso resigned himself and took the loss during a pit stop. It turned out afterwards that he had not waited there the full time, so that another penalty followed after the race.

An unexpected setback for Alonso, who is in his second career with Aston Martin. He visibly enjoys his performance knowing that no one seriously expects another world title from him. A third place seems the highest achievable. But in Jeddah he lost that place through his own mistakes. Alonso held up for the cameras afterwards: “The most important thing is that we were faster than Mercedes and Ferrari. The sponsors were able to celebrate on stage.”