The failure and disappointment of Alonso: “The points were not possible”

A problem with the rear brakes spoils his return, while Sainz is optimistic: “I had a lot of pace and I’m happy”

Saturday’s expectations could not be confirmed in Sakhir, where Fernando Alonso I had to abandon on lap 33 due to a fault in the rear brakes. Alpine’s A521 did not give more than itself, relegated to the power of Aston Martin or AlphaTauri and with a battery without optimal performance on the straights. “Points were not possible today, so we have to improve for the next race,” admitted the two-time world champion.

Several setbacks ended any option for Alonso, in a career where, according to his own words, he always went “against the grain.” After gaining two positions in the first four laps, his engineers took a risk by overtaking the first stop. The strategy, which seemed to work at first, stalled in the middle of track traffic, with five laps glued to Sebastian Vettel’s rear wing. A few moments that, despite everything, left Fernando a good taste.

“It has been a good day, where we have experienced cool moments, with the fight in the first laps. And with that the heart already beats,” explained the Spaniard, aware that he still lacks “time in the car.” “All the drivers who have changed teams need that time. I suppose that in two races I will feel more comfortable,” he revealed, listing the cases of Daniel Ricciardo O Carlos Sainz.

“Quite calmly”

Of course, the Madrid driver also needs more races to unleash his full potential with Ferrari. His three points are an acceptable debut at the wheel of an SF-21, the car with which Charles Leclerc feels much more comfortable now. A bad start, where he lost the position to Alonso and Lance Stroll, penalized Carlos’s options, who, like Saturday, again sinned in excess of prudence.

“I have taken it quite calmly. I still did not know this car in dirty air and during the first laps I was quite lost,” conceded the former McLaren driver, who was able to recover when finding more space in front of him. Your engineer, Riccardo Adami, I confirmed that he had one of the best rhythms in the middle zone. “I have gone very fast. If I manage to repeat this rhythm in the next races I will be happy,” he confessed.

In any case, the priority of the debut was to get the car to the finish line. “There will be time to repeat the starts I did at McLaren and play it so much in the first laps,” he concluded. Leclerc’s sixth place, who fought bravely in front of Lando Norris and Sergio Prez represents a starting point for the Scuderia, which within three weeks will raise great expectations among the fans with his arrival in Imola.

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