Fernando Alonso tries to contain his euphoria: “We will make mistakes, I will make them too, so we must keep our feet on the ground.” But the euphoria is unleashed, and he will not be able to stop it. That last weekend he rode with the best in the official pre-season tests could be attributed to multiple factors, including the fact that the other cars have not taught as much as they have inside. But look, the first free practice sessions of the course have arrived, the expected Friday of the first Grand Prix of the Formula 1 World Cup, on the same Sakhir circuit, and Alonso continues in the positions of honor: second in the first session and leader in the second. Here it is already difficult to cover anything. It’s okay that the results of the free practice sessions are not pure mathematics, it’s okay that the Red Bulls appear to be a step above, it’s okay that Checo Pérez’s time in the tests still prevails, it’s okay that facing some training sessions is not the same as a race at 57 laps, it’s okay that Aston Martin is currently an inexperienced team in fighting in the vanguard places… It’s worth anything. But, even if true, none of those nuances belies that the AMR23, with Alonso at the wheel, is one of the fastest cars on the current grid.
Even their rivals know this and speak out loud. Lewis Hamilton stressed on Thursday that the British team “is in the fight.” Word of a seven-time world champion. And Max Verstappen, a two-time champion like Alonso, looks beyond the time table: “I see Fernando smiling…”. His smile gives him away. That the Spaniard will be ahead this season, or at least at the beginning of it, is no longer something that can be concealed. So enjoy the Bahrain GP… And what comes next in the World Cup. The traffic light of euphoria shines green.
