“We are as Frustrated as He is”: Alpine F1 Reacts to Fernando Alonso’s Substandard Miami GP Outing

Fernando Alonso’s 2022 season hasn’t gone the way he had hoped. The Spaniard’s frustrations are growing as he has had two DNFs and 2 outside-the-point finishes so far. And he isn’t alone either. Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi also shares his driver’s feelings. He believes the championship standings don’t reflect Fernando’s talents, and that Alonso deserves to be higher up on the grid. 

“Yeah, of course. We’re just as frustrated as he is. I’m frustrated. He’s only got two points, I think, and it’s always been like if you ask people, they probably think he’s fourth in the Championship because he’s always up there, so he was unlucky,” said Rossi at a press conference during the Miami Grand Prix. 

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The Alpine boss had high praises for the two-time world champion and added that Fernando was in brilliant form. Moreover, Laurent was aware that race pace is their weakness at the moment.

Fernando Alonso gets affected by unbelievable luck so far

Alpine’s weekend in Miami did not end well as Esteban Ocon finished P8 while his teammate Fernando Alonso finished P11. Fernando’s cause wasn’t helped because he received two five-second time penalties; one for collision with Gasly and the other for cutting the chicane twice. 

When asked post-race about his collision with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, the Spaniard had apologized to the Frenchman. “Eventually I closed the gap, and I was very optimistic on the move with him, so I touched with Gasly again, and I had the penalty, five seconds, which I deserve, it was my mistake, I braked too late,” he said. 

Fernando’s luck has been the best so far at the season opener. A P9 finish in Bahrain bagged him two points. Since then, a mix of reliability issues and bad luck has hampered his progress. In Saudi Arabia, Alonso had to retire due to his engine giving up. 

What could have been a second-row start in Australia ended abruptly as Fernando crashed out in Q3. An ill-timed safety car during the race put him in a bad position in terms of strategy and ended up outside the points. Imola wasn’t kind either; a tap from the Haas on a first lap eventually caused his sidepod to break away and had to retire from the race.

The Enstone-based outfit will be looking to improve on their issues as they go racing in Alonso’s home race in Barcelona. 

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