The Madrid man was fastest in the only useful free practice session, as the first was run in the rain | The ‘porpoise’, a serious problem for many drivers, including Alonso
Once again Formula 1 made it clear that the current format of the weekends has a serious problem in terms of entertainment. His useful track action was cut short on Friday as the British GP’s first free practice session was held on wet surfaces. The fastest was Valtteri Bottas with the Alfa Romeo, something that will clearly not be repeated for the rest of the weekend, and not even all drivers drove. That’s why the second hour of rehearsals was the only really analysable. Carlos Sainz appeared there. With much doubt among the other drivers, the Madrid man made his own plan, mainly devoted to testing the novelties Ferrari has brought (all teams have evolutions) to Silverstone. In his case the hood and a few tweaks to the flat bottom and the front spoiler. That caused him to wear the ostentatious paraffin in his car, like other rivals, through which his technicians obtained the resulting necessary data.
In those conditions and with the track already dry but somewhat cold, Sainz set the best time of the day, ahead of a surprising Lewis Hamilton and an even more surprising Lando Norris. The McLaren is not expected to top the standings there, as Red Bull failed to show up alongside the chess game involved every Friday. Max Verstappen finished the day in discreet fourth, with Sergio Pérez seventh, which would be very odd if this happened again. Like the one who warms up on the edge of the dance floor before going through a salsa show, the championship’s biggest names were focused on breaking nothing and confirming that the new parts worked.
The one who didn’t miss his appointment at a packed Silverstone this Friday – the public always responds to the British GP’s call – was the main enemy of this year’s drivers and technicians: ‘porpoises’. If he didn’t show up in the morning, he did it big in the afternoon and the subjective cameras showed them suffering in their flesh from the incessant toss and bounce that is a nightmare. One of them was Fernando Alonso, who tried to drive the Alpine A522 as best he could without losing control every time he braked at the end of the long straight.
Incidentally, the Alpine is one of the cars that brings the most novelties to Silverstone. The team’s officials have warned about this in recent days: the British GP is marked in red on the calendar. The July Marathon, with four scoring events, is a golden opportunity to get back to the top of the table, although they have to play their cards smart to do so. Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari have also evolved their respective cars, so Alpine must have done a little better if they really want to qualify for that coveted part of the podium.
They have installed a new floor on the old ‘Royal Air Force’ airfield, some modified side pontoons with a curious and visible ‘ferrarised’ groove, a new hood and a front suspension adapted to the needs of this track. While this Friday’s sensations were positive on Alonso’s side as he finished with the sixth time trial, not so on Ocon’s side: he only completed twelve laps and was more than 1.2 seconds behind Sainz’s time. Fuel taxes only partially explain this performance difference.
Alpine as a team between mists and doubts is not something that can be ruled out in every race, but it is still rare for Mercedes. So Hamilton’s second time in free practice suggests they’ve tweaked something that’s right for them. In his case, the W13 debuts with front suspension, the controversial side has been retouched, the floor has been almost completely redesigned and the rear spoiler also changes. It cannot be considered a new car, but the facelift is obvious and, in the words of the seven-time champion, it works. “Obviously we’ve improved,” he later noted. In the standings it will have to be seen whether this supposed improvement is transferred to the circuit. Both Hamilton and ‘Mr. Consistency,” as George Russell was repeatedly dubbed for his “top 5” streak, ended Friday on a good note. Will they fight the roosters?
Source: La Verdad
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