The keys to Alonso’s return to the podium in Brazil: here’s what you need to know

Fernando Alonso yesterday he achieved a very good podium in Brazilian F1 GP. Unexpected, especially after the problems of the team in the last races, where it seems that Aston Martin has been very low and can no longer aim for results like this Sunday. Why is Alonso back on the podium? Several factors come together that must be highlighted separately below.

Understanding the parts that fail

Aston Martin started with the second best car on the grid. Alonso added podiums and more podiums in a row as his direct rivals were behind. Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari have improved with more evolutions across the course and the context of superiority is over. These three teams outperformed Aston Martin, which showed fewer new features, and those it tried did not perform as expected. This is how we got to the United States GP two weeks ago. there, Aston Martin presented a new package of evolutions, the last card to get back on track and join the battle for the podiums.
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Austin, being a sprint weekend, with only one practice session to test improvements, did not go well. And in Mexico, a track with a lot of altitude, something that affects aerodynamic load, Aston Martin didn’t do well. The team did not lose its composure and in those two races took the opportunity to do an important test: in one of its cars it installed the new package and in the other, the old one.. The purpose is to carry out a comparison. So they came to Brazil with a lot of analyzed data and clear conclusions. They know which pieces of the new package work and which pieces of the old package are better, and they make a hybrid out of them. With that mixed package they competed in Brazil and the car took a big step forward.

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Beware: Brazil can be treacherous

Fernando Alonso is sure that the best form shown by Aston Martin will remain in the next two races. But he doubts whether it will help him fight for the podium. Part of the explanation for these doubts lies in this point. Alonso’s last podium this year before what he achieved yesterday was at Zandvoort. Which circuit on the F1 calendar is most similar to the one in the Netherlands in terms of corner type combination? Brazil.

At Zandvoort, Alonso achieved a podium with a tremendous performance with the same package that then became weak on the following tracks. And in Brazil, he returned to the box with an exhibition. The difference between one case and another is that in the Netherlands, the Spaniard took advantage of the changing track conditions. In Brazil, on the other hand, it is fast in the dry, a point that gives more optimism because it is more representative.

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Unstable chasing zone

Only the McLaren is consistent

Another of the main reasons to understand that Fernando Alonso is back on the podium in Brazil is to understand what is the condition of his rivals. The F1 grid has been fairly even with the evolution of the cars, and in the chasing zone after Max Verstappen, it has been confirmed that only McLaren is fast on all types of tracks at this point of the year.. Mercedes came to Brazil hoping to surprise and challenge Verstappen for the win, but they suffered a huge and unexpected demotion.

Ferrari’s performance varies greatly depending on the track and Sainz and Leclerc have no car for more than the race. This equality and inconsistency allows groups to like Aston Martin can make the jump from fighting for Q3 to fighting for podiums on favorable tracks like Brazil.

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The mistakes of rivals

Alonso did not hide in the press conference. Yes, his Aston Martin improved a lot in Brazil and his show of hands against Pérez was huge. But also He was able to take advantage of a race where other great rivals for the podium suffered several setbacks. Alonso knows how to fish in turbulent rivers.
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For example, Oscar Piastri failed to qualify when it was raining and he had to leave yesterday late at night. If I start the race from a good position, I will have a podium car. Pérez also has to return, and Leclerc was unable to start due to a hydraulic problem. And Mercedes is missing in action.

“Why not be competitive in the last two? I don’t know if it’s at the podium level. Today we had a good race. We had Charles fall on the formation lap of the race. The Mercedes, which did not perform as expected. Czech started at the back. There are several factors that helped us to be on the podium. But we hope to be in the fight, that will be a good place for us,” Alonso said after the race.

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The classification

To qualify for the podium you have to start in a good position, unless you have a super car like Red Bull. At the beginning of the course, Alonso could afford to start 7th and reach the podium because his rivals were not that strong. Now, with such an even grid, it is mandatory to have a good classification, one of Aston Martin’s weak points this season. That is why, in part, the podiums also started to move away after the Canadian GP, ​​​​​​​​​​​after an incredible start by the Asturian with 6 out of 8 possible podiums.
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In Brazil, Aston Martin excels at ‘quality’. In a complicated classification due to the threat of rain, in Q3 he took Alonso and walked out of the garage very fast. This allows them to sort behind Verstappen and Leclerc, at 3rd and 4th position, before it rains. And from that 4th place, Alonso did not disappoint.

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Alonso’s hands

Obviously, without the hands and tremendous driving quality of Fernando Alonso, the podium in the Brazilian F1 GP would be unthinkable and impossible. The Asturian always makes the most of his car, the track conditions and everything that happens in the race. He knew how to pass Hamilton on the second start so as not to waste time behind the Mercedes, manage the tires when he needed to, push when he needed to, keep ‘Checo’ Pérez behind with a superior car when make no mistake, charge batteries to defend himself from the best way, and hit the Mexican with an ax without expectation.

If he has a podium car, he does it, as he showed when he accumulated 6 podiums in the first 8 races. If the conditions are complicated, he will also choose it because of his adaptability, as he did when he scored his 7th podium of the year at Zandvoort. And if he has a car close to the podium, he can put it in the box, taking advantage of the mistakes of his rivals and maximizing the potential of his car. Oh unique in its kind. One of the best in history. Several drivers scored a podium yesterday with Aston Martin in Brazil.