In the end he only took two points and, with everything that happened, they seem like a lot.
Fernando Alonso finished the Canadian Grand Prix with incredible anger after being affected, among other setbacks, by an engine problem. The Spaniard was sure at the end of the race that he could have fought for the podium with Lewis Hamilton, but this time luck was not on his side either.
Alonso saw the checkered flag in seventh place, equaling his best result this season, but after the end of the Canadian GP he had to go to the stewards room to testify for a defense against Valtteri Bottas that, according to the FIA, exceeded limits of the regulation as the Spaniard made several changes of direction.
In the end Alonso was ninth and only added two points, which is not enough if we take into account the masterful lap he did on Saturday to qualify in second position. Long before being sanctioned, during the reconnaissance lap after the race, Alonso was seen very angry, repeatedly hitting the steering wheel of his Alpine A522.
Yarışın ardından Alonso… pic.twitter.com/kRZnMk7aeP
— FERNANDO (@alo_theking) June 19, 2022
And it is that everything that could go wrong during the Canadian GP, went wrong. After deciding not to pit after the first Virtual Safety Car, Alonso was unable to take advantage of the second to make a less expensive stop in terms of time, as it finished before he reached the pit lane. Because of this, he stayed longer on the track waiting for another incident and excessively worn the tires.
At the end of the race, when he was riding behind Esteban Ocon and was about to attack him, Alpine asked him not to do so and that they both hold position until the end. Alonso responded by saying that “even with problems on the straight I’m a hundred times faster this weekend.”
Although we didn’t know it at the time, because he revealed it in his later statements, the two-time champion was suffering from a problem in the electrical part of the engine that was causing him to lose between eight tenths and one second per lap. And yet, they didn’t let him go for Ocon… perhaps because, as we saw at the Saudi GP, sparks could fly between the two of them if they cross paths again.
Once again this season, problems affected Alonso’s car, and they did so on the worst possible weekend, as the Spaniard had the pace to be up, at least in the top four. Despite bad luck with the strategy, the engine problem and the penalty, he took a couple of points home. With everything that’s happened, that seems like a lot!
