How a Mere $2 Worth Component Cost Fernando Alonso Potential Australian GP Podium

It could’ve been a brilliant start to the 2022 season for Fernando Alonso. But things didn’t work out the way he wanted. Back-to-back failures hampered the Spanish driver when he returned to the land down under. Team Boss Otmar Szafnauer reveals how a tiny tool made him lose out on some huge points.

Alpine retained Alonso after he made his F1 return with the team in 2021. Even though the Spanish international won his 2005 and 2006 championships with the French team (Renault then, Alpine now), the driver went through a lot during with his stint with the constructors. Out of his 350+ race appearances, Fernando lost many races due to many tiny tools. The most recent example of this is the Albert Park race.

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Talking about this, Otmar Szafnauer conveyed, “The O-ring got screwed up, the oil leaked… We have a failsafe mode that tried to save the engine, so when you notice a drop in oil pressure, Safe mode kicks in and that’s what happened.” 

The Melbourne race looked bright for the former McLaren driver until the Q3 and race day. Speaking on initial prospects, The two-time world champion stated, “Today the podium was there, you could fight for it.” Fernando continued, “One by one you can fight, but together you can’t do anything.” (quotes translated using Google Translate)

How did the season fare so far for Fernando Alonso?

The Spaniard started off his campaign in Bahrain pretty well for Alpine. After a brilliant Q2 performance saw Alonso go to Q3 and claim P8 in qualification. Having started from there, Fernando managed to finish the race in P9 and picked up 2 points, thanks to a double DNF by Red Bull.

The second race of the season was better in terms of performance for the 40-year-old. Having started the race from P7, Alonso battled it hard with his teammate Esteban Ocon for places. However, things didn’t work out perfectly for him and he suffered a mechanical issue with his car, that made him retire prematurely.

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In the latest race in Australia, Alonso was poised to be in the top 5 on Saturday’s qualification. However, an unfortunate crash in Q3 brought an end to his qualifying session, and he started the race from P10. Despite that, Fernando tried to make amends and even reached P4 in the race at one point. However, due to a safety car incident, he ended up in P17. Another bad day in the office for the most experienced driver on the grid.