Alonso, about his incident with Sainz: “At 340 kilometers per hour I prefer that no one traps me against the wall”

The good vibes, almost mentorship, of Fernando Alonso towards Carlos Sainz, in the early years of the Madrid driver in Formula 1 seems like a thing of another era if one pays attention to the coldness between the two Spanish drivers, even more so after the last clash between them, this Sunday at the Madring. It was lap 13 and Alonso tried to overtake the Williams driver on his right, but Sainz moved there and the two cars touched. The contact forced Aston Martin to replace the Oviedo driver’s front wing, whose anger over the radio was broadcast by the international television signal.

Read more Zverev — Shelton live, the US Open final live

“At the start he crashed into two, and now he squeezed me against the wall,” said the two-time world champion with Renault. Sainz, who by then was already driving with a damaged car, had to retire later (lap 48), while Alonso finished second to last (17th), before facing the journalists, who could easily sense his anger. “Fortunately I am safe and sound. At 340 kilometers per hour, I prefer that no one traps me against the wall. I want to finish the race alive,” said the veteran driver, 45 years old. Sainz, for his part, emphasized his rival’s complaints over the radio as the trigger for the five-second penalty he received as a consequence. “He complained and got me penalized. I had the car damaged since the start, and it was very difficult to keep it on track,” said the son of the two-time world rally champion (1990 and 1992), in a race to forget: “The car goes so badly in these types of scenarios, that the best result would have been 15th, or 16th. It is what it is,” said the Grove team driver.

If there is something that has become clear throughout his career, it is that Alonso can be very transparent when he wants. Presented Sainz as ambassador of the Madring, he became the main attraction of Montmeló. Asked if the fact that F1 has signed a contract with the urban circuit until 2035 is a strong reason to extend his contract, which expires at the end of the year, his answer was direct but ambiguous: “That changes nothing.”

Read more Enric Mas and the laurel of perseverance: the Mallorcan wins the Vuelta

“Overtaking needs to improve”

A large part of the shake-up given to the technical regulations for this season aimed to increase overtaking, the main selling point of the races and the one most missed at the Madring. The profile of the circuit, embraced by walls, already anticipated a Sunday of procession, with the cars in a procession like the rest of the urban circuits. Lando Norris was the driver with the most pace of the weekend, but he got frustrated stuck in the pack, trapped and unable to progress, simply waiting for the cars ahead to disappear as they made their stops. In the end, the speed of his papaya car took him to the podium, one of the least celebrated by the Bristol lad.

“The event has been fantastic, but overtaking needs to improve,” agreed Fred Vasseur, Ferrari director, who again had none of his cars on the podium. “This circuit needs some adjustments, because it is impossible to overtake,” added George Russell. “Give me a map and I’ll fix it,” joked Max Verstappen.

Read more An avalanche in the Russian Caucasus kills at least 17 mountaineers