Alonso, to confirm on the night of Jeddah his chances in the F1 World Cup

The Spanish double world champion Fernando Alonsowho surprised in such a good way by finishing third, at the age of 41, his first race with Aston Martin, in Bahrain, became the great entertainer of the Formula One World Championship. A tournament that will continue this weekend in Jeddah, headquarters of the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia. Second of the year.

the dutch Max Verstappen25, who is looking to win a third consecutive World Cup, started the title defense on the right foot and led Bahrain, just ahead of his Mexican teammate. Sergio Perez, a new ‘double’ from Red Bull. The Austrian is the team to beat, after last year ending the best streak in history, that of Mercedes: winner of the previous eight Constructors’ World Championships.

alonso, who already surprised in the pre-season tests -also in Bahrain-, completed an outstanding weekend where, after setting the best time in practice on Friday, Aston Martin’s good moment was confirmed with fifth place on the grill; which in the race became his 99th podium in the premier class. One year and three months after 1998. And the third since 2014.

The Asturian double world champion (2005 and 2006), with 32 victories in F1 -the first almost twenty years ago and the last almost ten years ago- caused a great sensation at the start of the course, with the seventh car since last year. In his new AM23 he wrested, in the last part of the test, third place from his compatriot Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), fourth two weeks ago at Sakhir.

The ‘Scuderia’ debuted team leader, the Frenchman Frederic Vasseur -replaced the Italian-Swiss Mattia Binotto-, but last year’s ghost flew in the desert of Bahrain; and, when he was running third, the Monegasque Charles Leclerc had to retire due to a reliability problem. On Wednesday, the Maranello team announced that Leclerc – who ran out of power at a track where he led the Ferrari ‘double’ last year – had changed the control unit on his SF23 before the race; Therefore, it is necessary to repeat the operation, the pilot from the principality of the Côte d’Azur exceeded the limit of two substitutions and will be penalized ten places on the grid. In the second of 23 World Cup races.

Something that his colleague in Madrid can take advantage of, who last year celebrated his first victory in F1 at Silverstone (Great Britain); where in Jeddah he will look for -at least- his sixteenth podium.

But the man who made the top class crazy is, once again, Alonso, who reconfirmed what he said in an interview with Efe Agency in Austria and in 2021, the year of his return to F1 -after two of his. , where he won, among others and with Toyota, the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and (twice) the 24 Hours of Le Mans-: that “the important thing in motorsport is not age, but the stopwatch” .

Alonso, who admitted to being happy with his new car, wanted to reduce the euphoria and urged to keep “feet on the ground”. “The car caused a great feeling and we enjoyed the weekend by taking our first podium of the year in Bahrain. But now we are focused on this weekend and in Jeddah,” said the great Asturian driver with a view to the Arabian Grand Prix.

“Realistically, I think it will not be until after Australia when we know better what the general performance is, after three very different races and on different circuits: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia,” said Alonso before facing the second test of the season . A Grand Prix held on a track of 6,174 meters -the second longest after Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)- and 27 curves; where on Sunday it is planned to give 50 laps to cover a route of 308 kilometers and a half.

Fernando wanted to lower expectations, but the smooth running of Aston Martin was confirmed by his new partner, the Canadian Lance Strolling, still recovering from injuries sustained in an accident while training on a bike that did not allow him to participate in the pre-season tests, finished sixth in Sakhir. Behind seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton -fifth two weeks ago- and ahead of another Mercedes, that of the Englishman George Russell, seventh in Bahrain.

But of all the Mercedes-powered cars, the first to cross the finish line was the Asturian star, once again the center of attention in Jeddah, on the coast of the Red Sea. Where to shoot it with mid-range compound tires: C2 (hard, recognizable by the white stripe), C3 (medium, yellow stripe) and C4 (soft, red).

The World Cup reaches the fastest urban circuit of the championship, where noticeable changes in temperature are expected: the first and third free practice are in the afternoon; while the second test, qualifying and the race will be held at night. Where, on paper, a stop would be expected; but where you have to rely on the entry of the safety vehicle.

He Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia, whose training sessions begin this Friday, reached its third edition this weekend. On debut, two years ago, Hamilton prevailed; putting red hot, in the penultimate test, a World Cup that was not resolved until the last lap of the final race in favor of Verstappen.

‘Mad Max’ won last year, ahead of the two Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz, a race that ‘Checo’ -with four wins and 27 podiums in F1- tackled from ‘pole’. So far so strange. Before finishing, victim of bad luck, in fourth position.

“I’m looking forward to racing again at this circuit after the ‘pole’ I achieved in 2022,” said the driver from Guadalajara (Jalisco) before traveling to Jeddah. “I had very bad luck last year, for the moment the safety car entered the track, when I was leading the race, so hopefully this time I have to win,” added ‘Checo’ with a view to the Arabian Grand Prix Saudi. Whose qualifying will be held on Saturday -hours after the final practice-, to order the starting lineup for Sunday’s race.