Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz had an extraordinary weekend, but with a happy-ending United States Grand Prix. On the one hand, the Asturian is about to achieve an epic comeback in the career of Austin after leaving the pit lane, but he piloted his Aston Martin, which caused damage to its flat bottom, forcing him to abandon it with less than ten laps to go.
On the other hand, the Ferrari makes for a solid test, managed by a team that gives you what it takes from you. If in the sprint he made a bad strategy decision by wearing the soft start tires, in Sunday’s race they chose a two-stop plan that, in addition to the good driving of the native Madrid, turned out to be a good fourth because he moved to the podium.
Sainz inherited the third position from Lando Norris, which came second after the disqualification of Lewis Hamilton. One of the Mercedes was not the only driver whose result was annulled, since the car was owned by Charles Leclerc It also has irregularities in the floor. A few hours after the race, the FIA announced these two disqualifications, creating a dance in the positions of the final classification of the test in Austin.
Sainz managed to get 15 points in particular, unlike Alonso, who left empty-handed for the second time in the 2023 World Championship. As we said, the two Aston Martin drivers started from the pit lane after breaking parc ferme, even behind those Haas, who did the same. However, the good pace and the two-stop strategy of the Asturian helped him enter the top ten, but in the end, he ended up leaving his new team for the first time.
Sainz and Alonso got a positive
And Aston Martin experienced a bitter end on the American Circuit. After two days full of problems in qualifying and the sprint, even with a completely improved car, last Sunday it gave a brief resurrection thanks to its two drivers. On the one hand, Lance Walk He finished seventh, among other things, due to disqualifications.
Alonso’s case is the saddest for Spanish fans. The two-time world champion was about to close one of the most epic comebacks of his career, but his flat bottom, damaged after almost 50 laps, did not allow him to finish the test, and he had to retire just a few minutes later. crossing the goal for the last time.
However, Aston Martin has the pace. Alonso confirmed it himself in his remarks after the race: “It was a super race for us, with a good comeback and a lot of pace starting from pit lane. “I could have finished eighth; it was a very good race.”
Shouted Verstappen
Another one of the highlights of Austin is the screams and great anger of Max Verstappen, the test winner with Red Bull. The three-time world champion took his 50th race, the most suffered this year in Formula 1 And, if he usually says rude things on the radio, Sunday with his team was unforgettable. The Dutchman even ordered his engineer to be quiet during braking: “Shut up, don’t tell me when I’m braking.”
