Alonso will be aiming for his tenth consecutive top ten finish in his Alpine this weekend in Zandvoort, the fifteenth round of the year. Whilst explaining how things went in Spa last time, the Spaniard looks forward to the Dutch race this weekend, likening the enthusiastic Dutch fans to his Spanish followers in the early days of his successes in Formula 1.
This weekend Fernando Alonso will be racing at Zandvoort for the second time in his career. After finishing fifth at Spa-Francorchamps last week, the Spaniard is looking ahead to the second of three consecutive races, with the main objective of finishing in the points once again to extend Alpine’s lead over McLaren in the manufacturers’ championship.
“Spa was a successful Grand Prix for us,” explains Alonso,
“The team had a good weekend and we deserved to score points. As far as I’m concerned, it’s my ninth top 10 in a row. Our qualifying position was a little bit better than expected because of the penalties, but we managed to capitalise on this position,” explained the two-time world champion, looking back on his Belgian Grand Prix.
“After a great start that put us in second place, there was that contact with Lewis [Hamilton]. Fortunately the car wasn’t damaged too much and we were able to continue our race.”
“We were given fifth position after the finish following the penalty to Charles [Leclerc], but having had a lot of bad luck this year we take those opportunities when they come. It was also good to score more points than McLaren in the battle for fourth place in the championship.”
As for Zandvoort, the Alpine driver particularly appreciates the atmosphere of the track on the North Sea with the massive presence of fans of current world championship leader Max Verstappen.
“Zandvoort is a fun track. We’ve only been there once before, but it’s now a much bigger event, partly due to the rise of Max [Verstappen]. The whole atmosphere and buzz from the Dutch fans reminds me a bit of the early 2000s, when the Spanish fans really fell in love with the sport.”
“The atmosphere was really great and I’m sure we’ll experience the same thing this weekend. This Grand Prix comes a week after the Belgian one, but we are looking forward to getting back in the car, especially after the team’s performance in Spa, including the fastest pit stop.”
Prior to the Dutch Grand Prix, the Alpine team sits fourth in the constructors’ championship with a 20-point lead over McLaren.
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Anyone remember the Alonso fans booing and catcalling Hamilton in Madrid because of his colour back when they drove for McLaren? Same opinions are surfacing with Verstappen supporters too, so Alonso should be careful with his comments.
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