Before the race, in one of those paddockAS heard the comment of a chief engineer who works for a team that wins races: “We analyzed all the drivers’ lines in turn three and the first one to do the one that has been shown to be the fastest is Fernando Alonso.” From the second training session, Ocon replied, “that’s why he was so fast.” Since Saturday, most of the riders followed in the wake that the two-time Spanish champion had opened. “There should be less training!”, the Asturian joked to this newspaper when commenting on the anecdote.
Chance or not, it was on the banked turn three that Alonso made the best start of the day: he started ninth and only he gained positions in the start, two. He beat Ocon on that turn and Giovinazzi, a couple of corners later. This is how he narrated it for this medium: “The plan was to go outside. I was in the clean area of the grid and I wanted a straight exit to roll around the outside of turn one. Giovinazzi followed the same plan and also went outside, so it kind of blocked my initial idea. After that, I had to improvise a bit at turn two and three. “
“There were a lot of cars, at one point I’m even on the grass, and already in turn three I choose to ride on the outside and I have good speed at the start. Carlos was in the middle, somehow, and that slowed me down a bit. Like Giovinazzi and Carlos were fighting until turn seven, I was able to get that other position. I think Esteban touched me in turn one and Russell in turn two and Giovinazzi, in the six. It had very robust tires, no punctures, that was good, “he added.
So he was seventh, to win sixth place he had to overtake Sainz on the penultimate lap. Minutes before, the comeback against the barriers almost ended: “I had forgotten and you reminded me… a stressful time. I was able to pass Carlos in the first corner, on the inside, six laps from the end. I thought I had it, but at the last minute he braked later and we almost touched. In ‘three’ I was so close that I had to go outside, four inches from the wall and with both front wheels locked. It was good luck, I didn’t have the car under control. “
“We were sixth because McLaren was not in front”
Fernando returns to the points after the parenthesis of Spa, where there was no race as such, and also overtakes Ocon in the general classification. He is tenth, he has two points more than his partner, who won a race. “This time we were sixth, instead of eighth or ninth, because McLaren was not in front. But the natural position of our car is the same. I am happy with my races, with my battles and with how the car feels on Sundays. Qualifying on Saturday is not still my strong point, but the points for now come on Sunday, fortunately for me. “