(Motorsports news) Fernando Alonso started the Zandvoort race in fifth place, however, he actually fell back a position by making his first pit stop for intermediate tires on the second lap. Alonso then made good progress, moving up to third, but when he pitted on lap 48 due to a wheelgun failure, he lost about six seconds. He had to pass Carlos Sainz again as a result, then set the quickest lap to catch up to Sergio Perez. During the hectic late storm, he then passed the Mexican for a second.
Fernando Alonso might have had a chance to win when racing resumed following the red light, but leader Max Verstappen outran him and finished 3.7 seconds behind the hometown favorite. After taking the flag, Alonso addressed his crew, “We will win one race soon, we are getting closer.” It was the team’s and the Spanish driver’s first podium since they placed second in Canada in June, and it followed a stretch of four races in which he did not place higher than sixth.
When asked about Alonso’s charging race, said Krack, “The good thing was that he was in control all the time. “And he was always in control of the situation, I’d say, which was crucial in such circumstances to never go off. He was successful in some survival-only circumstances, and if the chance to overtake Verstappen had presented itself at the finish line, he would have taken it.
“You saw how quick Alonso was in the first four or five races, and it was amazing to see him come back [after the stop delay] and past the two cars. We were very certain that there would be an incident due to the tremendous rain that continued afterward, but we can only hope that it wasn’t caused by us.
Mike Krack agreed that the gap since the last top-three finish was a positive thing to have ended. “After all these podiums in the first half of the season, and then more challenging races, now finally in a very difficult weekend we managed to get another podium, which is great,” he continued. To be honest, it was a great team effort from everyone.
“The campus’s lights never went out during the month of July. We brought new components today, and we’ll bring new components to the upcoming races. In order to see where we ultimately land, we really want to attempt to keep fighting as much as we can in this struggle. Krack asserted that Zandvoort’s significant new floor package had been successful.
“You try to bring parts to the car, but obviously with the difficult conditions that we had here and the changing conditions the data analysis is also not an easy one,” he stated. “However, all evidence leads in the right way. Although we still need to confirm them over the upcoming races, I believe we made a tiny stride in Spa and another one here. He continued, “We have to see,” in reference to the chances of the upcoming race in Monza. It would be interesting to see the results of our recent, intensive work on our package to enhance the straight line and DRS.
