Fernando Alonso finishes third but a sanction keeps him from the podium at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

taketonews

Definitely, Red Bull is in another dimension. After the double with which Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez opened the season in Bahrainhe Saudi Arabian Grand Prixthe second appointment of the most ambitious calendar in the history of the Formula 1with 23 weekends of action, confirmed the superiority of those from Milton Keynes and repeated the same script in Jeddah, although in reverse order and a great victory for the Mexican, the fifth on his account.

Fernando Alonsoat a clear disadvantage to the top speed of the RB19, managed to get the most out of his Aston Martin and he was once again the third in contention, the ‘best of the rest’. A second podium that was spoiled after the race when he received a 10-second penalty for not properly complying with a previous 5-second penalty for not positioning the car correctly at the start. A bitter outcome after a race in which he confirmed the expectations of the Spaniard and his new team with the car. In the end, he fourth and was left without podium number 100.

Alonso had placed his car too far to the left on the starting grid, no more than half a meter. That earned him a five-second penalty. When the safety car entered halfway through the race, the Spaniard took the opportunity to serve the penalty, but it turns out that a mechanic touched the jack before those 5 seconds and according to the FIA ​​regulations, that cannot be done. Another 10 second penalty and as George Russell was just over six seconds behind Alonso, he took third place from him.

hack and penalty

“Let’s see if I am able to keep this lion behind & rdquor ;, Sergio Pérez said before the race, referring to Alonso. The Mexican, author of the pole, did not trust the two-time Spanish champion, who started second on the grid for the first time since Canada 2022. And he was fully correct in his suspicions. When the traffic lights went out, the Asturian won the game. Checo tried to close him off but Fernando reached the first corner ahead. The FIA ​​stewards ruined their climb by announcing a 5” for “incorrect position & rdquor; at the exit. It did not matter. As soon as he had DRS, Pérez’s Red Bull passed him like a ‘plane’. Alonso, who already expected it, followed the planned script and tried to stick to the RB19 to distance himself from Russell, third, and thus mitigate the penalty at his first stop.

From behind, two of the great favourites, Leclerc and Verstappen, came in attack mode, coming from the back of the grid. The Monegasque opted for a different tire strategy than the rest of the rivals and started with soft ones. From 12th place on the grid, after penalizing for resorting to the third electronic control unit, the Ferrari man caught up with his teammate Carlos Sainz in just fourteen laps. For Verstappen, who had started 15th after the untimely technical failure on Saturday in Q2, when he broke a bearing on his car, it was enough with the medium Pirellis, the majority choice at the start, to reach the podium positions.

Verstappen’s comeback

A safety car caused by the breakdown of Alonso’s teammate at Aston Martin, Lance Stroll, on lap 18 brought the peloton back together and hurt Ferrari, when Leclerc and Sainz had already made their ‘pit stop’. The race was restarted with 30 laps to go and considering a one-stop approach. Red Bull’s new low downforce package for Jeddah gave Pérez ‘wings’ and champion Verstappen, devastating in his climb. Hamilton, the only one with means among the favourites, gave an account of Sainz, while Max launched a brilliant attack on Russell. In the middle of the race, the Red Bulls were a ‘steamroller’ and only Alonso resisted in the battle, pursued by the two Mercedes.

Without team orders, unthinkable at this point in the championship, Pérez and Verstappen engaged in a vibrant pulse, both rolling at an impressive pace, hitting a fast lap and caressing the walls, on the way to the second double of the season for Red Bull. Alonso could not match the ‘heart attack’ partials of the two men who preceded him, but he did keep Russell at bay, confirming that he is still the best on track after the ‘untouchable’ Red Bull. That’s why when Verstappen warned of a problem in his car with ten laps to go, Fernando “smelled blood” and multiplied at the wheel. It was a mirage. Pérez and Verstappen secured the first two places on the podium and Alonso was once again the best among the ‘mortals’. He even allowed himself to raise his income over Russell to 5,138, after being warned on the radio that he could have another 5″ penalty at the end of the race. And so it was. Or rather, it was 10 seconds, which kept him from the podium.

Related news

Much less positive were the feelings of Ferrari after the second Grand Prix of the season. If in Bahrain they suffered more than anyone due to degradation, in Arabia, with a less aggressive asphalt and a configuration that favored them on paper, neither Sainz nor Leclerc achieved their goal either. The man from Madrid finished sixth and Leclerc, seventh. Another disappointment in Maranello.

The Aston Martin “works everywhere & rdquor;

Result aside, for Aston Martin and Alonso the best news is that the performance of the AMR23 in two radically different circuits such as Bahrain and Arabia. “Winter testing and the first race were in Bahrain and it went very well, but we hadn’t tested the car at any other track so it was important to come to Jeddah and see if we were still strong. We are and it’s a big relief. and extra motivation for the team, because the car works everywhere”. In fact, Fernando warned that the next race, in another setting as special as Albert Park, in Melbourne, will serve to calibrate in a “much more precise” way. ;, the real goals this season.



ttn-24