In the end, Alonso was ninth.
Fernando Alonso’s fantastic second position on the starting grid could not be translated into a podium finish at the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix. but he suffered an engine problem, the strategy did not work out and he was also sanctioned.
In the end, despite crossing the finish line in seventh place, Alonso was ninth due to the penalty imposed by the FIA for making several changes of direction to defend against Valtteri Bottas in the closing stages of the race.
“It was a good race in terms of pace. We could have fought with Hamilton for the podium,” explained Alonso after getting off the Alpine A522 to the DAZN F1 microphones and revealing that reliability failed again. “On lap 20 we had an engine problem, in the power system, which cut the KERS and we were losing eight tenths or one second per lap.
“To be in the DRS train in the group of Ocon or Leclerc, in the corners I had to go flat out. In the end we kept the seventh position by a miracle. This reliability problem just today hurt a lot,” commented the Asturian.
In addition to all this, luck did not smile on Alonso in Canada either, since just when he was trying to benefit from the virtual safety car caused by Mick Schumacher’s problem, it ended and he was unable to take advantage of this situation in the pits. “As usual, luck was not on our side today,” he said.
As if that were not enough, a couple of hours after the end of the race, Alonso received a five-second penalty for making several changes of direction to defend himself against Valtteri Bottas in the closing stages of the Grand Prix. Thus, the two-time Spanish champion fell from seventh to ninth place.