‘Everything was planned’- Fernando Alonso Reveals Why He Intentionally Drove Slow at the Dutch F1 Grand Prix

It has been an impressive weekend for Fernando Alonso at Zandvoort, who secured his third top-six finish in his comeback season. After starting the race from P9, the Spaniard made a couple of brilliant moves to overtake Esteban Ocon and Antonio Giovinazzi by the end of the first lap. After the first lap, Alonso started managing his tires, which eventually slowed him down.

Moments after, Ocon complained over his radio that he was faster than his teammate and that he should let him through. But Alonso managed both his position and tires, which later proved to be decisive. As on the last lap of the race, the Spaniard made an incredible move on Carlos Sainz to secure P6.

The two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso, has since revealed why he deliberately went slow at the Dutch Grand Prix.

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What did Fernando Alonso say?

“I think Esteban was going faster, everybody was going faster and I could have gone too, but I didn’t want to. I put aside the fight with the Ferrari drivers because they were 10 seconds away,” said Fernando Alonso after the race.

Formula One F1 – Steiermark Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria – June 24, 2021. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso walks the track ahead of Steiermark Grand Prix REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger.

“At the beginning of the race, I paid a lot of attention to my tires and pushed before the first pit stop. I followed the same technique after the pit stop. I did a slow 15 laps at the beginning and then I went full throttle for the last 20 laps and had a good race. Everything was planned,” added Alonso. (Quotes translated via Google)

“I was not in control of the car”: Alonso after chasing down Sainz on the last lap

Fernando Alonso, who was running strong at P7 for almost the entire race, overtook his fellow compatriot, Carlos Sainz, in the dying moments of the race. Meanwhile, the 39-year-old driver reveals he got lucky as he did not end up in the wall while chasing down Sainz.

“I had a go at Carlos about six laps from the end at Turn 1 on the inside, and I thought I was making the move. Then, in the last moment, he released the brakes and braked even later, so we nearly touched in Turn 1,” said the Alpine driver.

Formula One F1 – Dutch Grand Prix – Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands – September 3, 2021. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso in action during practice REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw.

“Then, into Turn 3, I was too close. So I locked the fronts a little bit, and I ran wider than normal. I was outside of the circuit, and I was about 10cm or something from the wall with both front tires locked up.”

“It is not that I did anything magic there. It was just pure luck, as I was not in control of the car. I got lucky there,” added Alonso.

Read More: WATCH: Fernando Alonso’s Jubilant F1 Radio Message Amidst His Last Lap Overtake of Carlos Sainz

Can Fernando Alonso replicate his impressive performance at the last event of the ongoing triple header at Monza? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.

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