Fernando Alonso was delighted to see the BWT Alpine F1 Team qualify strongly for the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday, with the Spaniard set to start third on the grid once all the penalties have been applied to those around him.
Initially Alonso’s best lap was good enough for sixth, but penalties for Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Esteban Ocon moves him up three places on the grid, and from there he feels he can do something in the race.
Alonso knows that the drivers out of position – such as Verstappen and Leclerc – will be doing all they can to recover on Sunday, but the two-time World Champion will be happy if he is still inside the top five or six at the end of the race.
“I am happy with our performance today and it’s a positive result for the team with both cars qualifying inside the top six positions,” said Alonso. “We gave each other the tow during the session, and it worked really well.
“It will be exciting tomorrow and, like in Canada, it’s another opportunity to attack inside the top three at the start. Tomorrow, I want a clean race to capitalise on this position.
“We’ll be wary of those behind us, as there are some fast cars starting towards the back of the grid. We’ll be aiming to be in the top five or six positions by the chequered flag.”
“Everything seemed to click this afternoon” – Esteban Ocon
Team-mate Ocon gave Alonso a tow down the Kemmel Straight during Q3, with the Frenchman knowing he would be falling down the order thanks to a penalty for unscheduled engine component changes.
Ocon initially outqualified Alonso in fifth but will start down in seventeenth, with the Frenchman feeling it is unlucky for him to be taking a penalty this weekend with the pace of the A522 being strong.
Nevertheless, he is looking forward to Sunday’s race and hopes to make gains towards the points, and he hopes it will be a double top ten finish for Alpine with Alonso so high up the order.
“It’s been a good day for the team and I’m very happy with today’s result,” said Ocon. “Everything seemed to click this afternoon and the team did a fantastic job with the car and made all the right calls today, so a very well done to them.
“Fifth place is my equal-best qualifying result of the season, so it’s a bit of a pity to have the grid penalty for tomorrow’s race but we’ve got the package to still get a decent result tomorrow.
“Fernando will start in third, and I will give it my all to make my way up the grid and bring home some deserved points for the team. I can’t wait to go racing and give the Belgian fans a good Grand Prix, they deserve it!”
