Alonso: “The pace is good, I hope we can fight for the podium”

Fernando Alonso showed good rhythm behind the wheel of a Aston Martin competitive again at Brazil in the sprint race held this Saturday. He had no choice because he started late, in 15th place, due to the strong impact he received from Esteban Ocon in the morning short classification. But the Oviedo native said he took advantage of Saturday’s sprint event to study the degradation before Sunday in a round that also served to check his car’s good performance.

This Sunday, the story is very different. Alonso will start 4th, with his teammate take a walk just ahead, 3rd. He wanted to grab the drawer, but he knew that Lando Norris, who will start in the 6th, He has devastating speed in his McLaren, and the fight will be difficult against Mercedes, Ferraris and a ‘Checo’ Pérez should come on, starting 9th.

“It was going well, so we stayed there. After the incident this morning the sun has disappeared. very good, We spent a little time trying to understand the breakdown, to see if the car was okay and the truth is that I felt quite fast. We are more competitive than Haas, Alpine, and even Piastri (McLaren) in the end, and than Carlos (Sainz, Ferrari). They are all on the DRS train, working together and “It’s impossible to move forward, but there’s a good feeling,” Fernando Alonso said in the statements on ‘DAZN F1’ at the end of the sprint race, where despite his return, he did not reach the points, finishing in 11th place in the final.

Sunday’s race goal

“I hope we can fight for the podium. And if not, for the Top-5. Because I told you, we are faster with Piastri today, than Hamilton at the end, when we caught him. So, it’s going to be a tough battle with Mercedes, with Leclerc, with Norris, certainly, which will come quickly. Let’s see if we can maintain that Top-5 somehow,” Spanish finish from Aston Martin, back in the mix after some complicated races where his car stopped.