The F1 season is waking up, in just a couple of weeks the bulk of the grid will have been presented and at the end of February (23-25) there will be pre-season tests in Sakhir. On March 5, the first GP of the season will be held in Bahrain. And what are the prospects for the two Spanish riders? Carlos Sainz aspires to everything because it is mandatory to think about winning when you drive a Ferrari; and Fernando Alonso only smiles since he got off the Alpine to get on the Aston Martin, a modest man with aspirations of outsider.
The pessimists will say that 2022 was unprofitable. Sainz won one race, took three pole positions and was on the podium nine times, but finished fifth and behind Leclerc (2nd) in the standings. Alonso (9th) gave away so many points due to the lack of reliability that he ended up surpassed even by Ocon (8th). But it should not be forgotten that Spain has been little relevant in a good part of the 74 years of the F1 World Cup and that, except for Alonso’s glorious parenthesis at Renault and his time at Ferrari, this country had not aspired to good results as it is now.
From that perspective, the Sainz and Alonso bottle is half full. That’s how he understands it Pedro Martinez de la Rosa Former F1 driver, commentator on DAZN and now also an Aston Martin ambassador. In conversation with AS, he opines: “It seems little in Spain, because people live from 2005, 2006 and 2007, two World Cups were won in three years. And then 2010 and 2012. But we have to open our eyes and understand that this is Formula 1. Having a driver is incredible. To have one win and make podiums is amazing. But we have two!”
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“I am delighted with life. I have competed, but I have also commented races all my life and there is nothing more beautiful than commenting races with our drivers on the track. I have spent many years commenting on races without Spaniards and there is nothing sadder. Now I have the luxury of commenting on races with Spaniards who are fighting for pole positions, podiums and victories. It is incredible, it is a luxury and we would have to pinch ourselves and tell ourselves that this is true”, De la Rosa describes. The 51-year-old Catalan contested 105 Grand Prix and achieved a podium finish (Hungary 2006).
“The problem we have in Spain is that many times we live on memories, and we have to live in the present and look to the future, we have two great pilots and the future is spectacular. I wish there were more drivers on the way because little is being invested in the base, but we have talent down there. Let’s enjoy it, I don’t want us to look at this era five years from now and say: do you remember when we had two drivers? Now that was a good time. We are living a golden age in F1, we are not world champions but you have to enjoy the moment, It is spectacular. A second golden age of Spanish motorsports in F1. People think that it is impossible to relive 2005 and 2006, but we are living it right now. Although some do not want to realize it ”, closes De la Rosa.