How did Alonso achieve 10 positions after his accident?

Fernando Alonso was left without the 7th place achieved in GP of the United States after an epic comeback after experiencing a serious accident where his car went on two wheels and hit the barriers. The FIA he incurred a controversial 30-second penalty that left him 15th in the final standings. But what the commissioners could not erase was the memory of what the Spaniard had done Austina pure example of the careerist that he is and his ability to fight, never give up and fight.

The return of Fernando Alonso it has two elements: the Asturian magic and a more rational one. The surprising and heroic nature of his work is many. The first, that the car holds and is able to continue the race after a severe blow, just by changing the nose in the pits. The second, Fernando Alonso was able to perform at his best after the jump taken by his car and the subsequent fall, without suffering injuries and being able to push. The third, that Fernando Alonso can print a high speed by extending his second set of hard tires more than others. That is one of the main keys.

When the Asturian arrived at the pits, he thought he could go no further. But the team put a hard rubber on him and said: “We’re going to the end”. 34 laps left. many. The question is whether the compounds will last. Even Fernando hesitated. But they did this despite the great speed of Asturian printing.

It was very important that the first 4 laps of that tire was behind the ‘Safety Car’, because it stopped on lap 22 and the appointment continued on lap 26. This managed to extend its life. From there, He has 30 laps left to attack and manage the tires at the same time. If you walk around the paddock and talk to the Pirelli tire technicians about Fernando, they all rank him as one of the best drivers in tire management. And in Austin he proved it again.

Wheel management:

He finished 34 laps on hard tires. Only Latifi (17th) and Albon (12th) put more laps in that combination (38). Most did 22, 23, or 24 laps with that tire, less than the Spaniard. And that must have influenced the good performance of this tire. happened to Zandvoort, where everyone rejected that compound and Alonso did a good stint on the hard because he found it worked well for him in free practice. There, Alpine was not afraid of the hard rubber and that gave him the advantage. This time, the poor came back to respond to the Spanish car. He just started to stumble in the closing laps when Norris attacked him. He tried to fend off a Lando riding a difficult 12 laps younger, and despite the effort he put into it, he ended up giving up the position. But he had already done the most important work.

HOW DO YOU GET SO MANY POSITIONS?

On lap 22 he took to the track with the car damaged after the accident in 17th position. He came to go 6th, gaining 11 positions. He finished 7th, achieving a final gain of 10 places. How can he pass 11 drivers on the track? There, apart from his determination, good speed and good tire management, a more reasonable element comes into play: his second stop.

Alonso was lucky to be able to get out of his first stop without losing any time with the ‘Safety Car’ on the track. And after only 4 laps on a medium tyre, in his own accident, he took advantage of that ‘Safety Car’ to get in. made that his first stop to put the medium tire is key, because it allowed him to remount his second set of hard because it didn’t matter if he compounded again and again. The hard one is the only wheel on which he can consider the risk of trying to go to the end without stopping again.

so, Fernando Alonso got a free stop when the safety car came out from his accident. The rest, as if it just stopped, will never happen again. Only Zhou was on lap 23, with ‘Safety’ still on the track, giving Fernando the position. So there, the Spaniard gained up to 6 positions in the subsequent stops of his rivals: The aforementioned Zhou and that of Gasly, Mick Schumacher, Tsunoda, Norris and Vettel. The rest of the He won places on the track: He passed Latifi, Ricciardo, Albon, his teammate Ocon and Magnussen. Up to 5 wins on asphalt. Only Norris was able to overtake him again on younger rubber at the end.

Like all magic, everything has its own trick: Fernando’s must take a risk, now nothing to lose, put on the hard rubber and take advantage of the possibility to make his second free stop. But it wouldn’t have been possible without his hands, his rhythm, his hunger, his desire to give his best after such a heavy blow, his resistance, his car and his hands. In other words, his careerist soul made a difference. Handled the tires perfectly. Magic? Call him talent, combined with luck to follow and take advantage of his own ‘Safety Car’.

CHRONOLOGY OF ALONSO’S RETURN

– Lap 22: Accident
– Lap 23: Alonso was 17th.

Lap 24: HAVE A POSITION WITH ZHOU EVERY STOP

Lap 26: The race continues with 30 laps to go. He had 4 laps of rubber behind the ‘Safety Car’, at low speeds.

Lap 28: OVERTAKES LATIFI. It’s the 15th.
Lap 31: PASS RICCIARDO. It’s the 14th.

Lap 33: GAINS POSITION WITH GASLY THROUGH STOP.
Lap 34: PASS ALBON. It’s the 12th.
Lap 34: DOUBLE PLACE: FINDING POSITION THROUGH MICK SCHUMACHER AND TSUNODA. EN 10th
Lap 35: GAINS POSITION BY STARING NORRIS. It’s the 9th.

Lap 39: PASS OCON ON TRACK. It’s the 8th. His final lap was 2 seconds faster than Ocon.
Lap 41: GAINS POSITION BY STOPPING VETTEL. It’s the 7th.

Lap 48. PASS MAGNUSSEN. It is the 6th. That’s when you lose the rearview mirror.

Lap 54: One turn to go, Norris passes him. It’s the 7th.
FINAL POSITION OF THE RACE.

HOW DID YOU GET OCON?
Alonso passes him on lap 39: When Ocon has 21 laps on hard rubber. Alonso was on 17-lap hard rubber at the time, just 4 laps younger. Ocon would stop with 11 laps to go and finish 11th.

Ocon’s lead after the restart, on lap 28, was 2.737s. Alonso had to pass Latifi and Albon.
When he passed Albon, Ocon was 1″5 behind. It took him 8 laps to catch up.

DISTANCE TO MAGNUSSEN:
Alonso on lap 27 was 3”5 behind Magnussen. He passed him on lap 48. Magnussen was on average tires 4 laps older than him (Magnussen average 29 laps/Alonso hard 25). So Alonso had a compound advantage.