Fernando Alonso recalls that the Alpine F1 team made “always the wrong choice” in strategy at the F1 Japan GP.
After the race restarted following the red flag, drivers immediately began changing from wet to intermediate tyres, mostly at the end of the second flying lap.
Team-mate Ocon came in on that lap and Fernando Alonso was told by the Alpine F1 team to stay out so he wouldn’t have to double stack.
When Fernando Alonso pitted on the next lap, Daniel Ricciardo was the only other driver who had not yet stopped, and Alonso lost two positions.
Afterwards, all the drivers struggled to hold on to the intermediate tyres, with Fernando Alonso wanting to pit for a new set towards the end of the race.
Guanyu Zhou and Lance Stroll, who both had little to lose at the back of the field, were the first drivers to buy new tires on laps 18 and 20 respectively.
Fernando Alonso was running seventh, but was finally cleared to enter on lap 22. He lost a few places but had the pace to recover seventh place.
At the end of lap 28, Fernando Alonso failed to overtake Sebastian Vettel at the final corner, exceeding the three-hour limit, thus bringing the checkered flag earlier than the team expected.
After reaching three hours, it was expected to be one more lap following the leaders crossed the flag first.
Alonso, who crossed the line just 0.011 seconds behind Sebastian Vettel, blamed his team over the radio on the slowdown lap.
“What a mistake. Strategically speaking, what are you doing to me this year? ‘ quipped Fernando Alonso.
“It was difficult to read the conditions today and visibility was the biggest topic,” said Alonso.
“Every time we decided to pit, we stopped very late.
“First, we stopped putting in the last intermediate and lost a position.
“Then I made my second stop at six laps to the end too late. I didn’t have time to make a difference, so I finished in the same position. I had asked to pit earlier on both occasions. , maybe the mic didn’t work today.”
Asked if he had to trust the Alpine F1 team, Fernando Alonso said: “We should have stopped in 10 or 11 or 12 laps. Like I said, I don’t know what they were doing. I stopped six laps from the end. I lost my chance.”
Alpine F1 team sporting director Alan Permane said the team was caught up by being flagged a lap earlier than the team expected, with Fernando Alonso leaving Sebastian Vettel as a result of a tire change. He said he would have overtaken him and moved up one position.
“I think the race was stopped a lap early. The checkered flag was a lap earlier than it should have been,” said Alan Permamain.
“I think there was still regarding five seconds on the clock when Max crossed the line, but the next lap the checkered flag was raised.”
Commenting on the timing of Fernando Alonso’s pit stop, Alan Permane said: “If the race had gone the distance we thought it would, would he have passed Sebastian? Yes.”
“His tires wore out as well in that stint, so it’s not easy to say, but maybe we should have done it a little earlier.”
“And in hindsight it might have been, but I don’t think we were wrong regarding how easy it is to pass people.”
“He’s talked regarding it before, should we think regarding pitting? And he would have had to take five cars and I thought that’s not good.”
“And I think I saw Zhou pitting. He was five seconds a lap faster. And I said, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ We’ll have to wait and see, but if the race goes longer. Had he been, I think he should have been, but he would have been in front of Sebastian.”
Category: F1 / Fernando Alonso / F1 Japan GP / Alpine
