Alonso’s pragmatic response for his final race of the year

“I did not expect”, He said Fernando Alonso on the microphones of ‘DAZN F1’ after the classification of F1 Abu Dhabi GP. The driver from Oviedo finished 14th in Free Practice 3 and set the cut-off time to enter Q2 at the limit, in 15th place. But as a complex classification as in Abu Dhabiwith a lot of traffic and on a very even grid, the man from Oviedo stepped up and surprised to enter the top 10, and finished in a 7th place which I didn’t think was possible before starting qualifying.

“In FP3 we suffered a bit more than we expected. We made some changes last night because FP2 was very short and we were worried. We were 14th and 15th this morning (FP3) and we didn’t really know where we were. And then, in Q1 at the first attempt he was 15th. I thought Saturday would be difficult. But we made progress along the track, finding grip every time we went out and… well, starting 7th tomorrow was better than expected.Fernando Alonso’s reasoning made clear the pragmatism he faces in this Sunday’s race, where 4th place in the Drivers’ World Championship, and more importantly, 4th place in the Constructors’ World Championship are at stake.

Alonso is tied on 200 points for fourth place in the World Cup with Carlos Sainz, who will start far from last, 16th. He has Norris at 5 points, starting 5th. And Leclerc in 12, who will start in 2nd. He made it clear that his focus is on the Constructors’ World Championship, with Aston Martin 11 points behind McLaren. But in one match as in the other, Fernando believes he will fight with fewer weapons in the race than all his rivals, with a less fast car.

Therefore, Fernando will focus on being there to seize any opportunity he can find if there are any unforeseen events in the race. If they give Fernando a hand, he will take the whole arm. He goes for it, thinking he has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Maximum pragmatism, no pressure at all.

“Carlos is leaving? I think Ferrari is in the Top-3 again with Leclerc. It’s a very good car than we have at the moment. AND then Lando (Norris) came out in front of me. McLarens are very fast, so I think I will lose my position to Lando also among the drivers. But the most interesting for us is the Constructors’ World Cup. The McLarens start in front of us, 3rd and 5th, and “If everything goes normal and it’s a normal race I don’t think we’ll do much, but if there’s a pretty crazy race, there’s some ‘Safety Car’ or a stroke of luck, we’ll try it especially. in Constructors”said Fernando Alonso.

“But as far as the drivers, I fear Norris and Leclerc, who are 12 points away but start 2nd there and can get on the podium. We will do our best and have fun, but our minds are on something else except classification.”he added.

“I’m going to close the year on a high note,” He said when asked about the World Cup position that he wants to finish the course in the best possible way.. “I will think that I will finish 7th among the drivers, that Norris and Leclerc will overtake me tomorrow. And that if there is some improvement there, good. But it changes a little”.

“I will not remember 2023 for the last position in the championship, but for arriving at Aston Martin, the podiums and feeling competitive. (The position in the World Championship) This is an anecdote. In Constructors this is important, because there is money at stake for the team. But for pilots there is no money…”, concluded Alonso, happy with his ‘quality’. He nailed it to be the 7th. He wants to go for more this Sunday.