Alonso still waiting for a ‘gift’ from F1 rivals

Henry Valantine
Fernando Alonso speaking with Max Verstappen at Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Baku June 2021

Fernando Alonso speaking with Max Verstappen in parc ferme after qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Baku June 2021

Fernando Alonso says he is still waiting for luck to go his way this season, but spoke of his satisfaction at earning his points on merit in 2021.

The Alpine driver took a few races to get fully back to speed at the start of the year following his two-season sabbatical from Formula 1, but has since come back to form and taken points at each of the last six races.

The Spaniard has shown flashes of the Alonso of old so far this season, notably gaining six places on the first lap of sprint qualifying at Silverstone, alongside receiving praise from Sebastian Vettel for showing the skills which the German dubbed as being “some of the greatest the sport has ever seen”.

But although he has yet to feature on the podium since his return, Alonso said he feels proud of what he has been able to do so far.

“We have not been lucky this year. Every position I have gained has been after fighting very hard, there has been no gift from anyone. I’ve had to fight hard to get every point, so I’m proud of that,” Alonso told reporters, quoted by Spanish outlet SoyMotor.com.

“If luck is on my side one day, I’m sure the result will be good but I’m not too worried about that. I’m more proud and satisfied to always work hard because every point we got was well deserved.”

Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon celebrate the Frenchman's win in Hungary. August 2021.
Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon celebrate an unlikely victory for Alpine at the Hungaroring. August 2021.

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A sterling defensive performance from Alonso against Lewis Hamilton in Hungary was seen as a significant reason behind his team-mate Esteban Ocon going on to win a frantic race just before the summer break.

But although he eventually came home fourth, Alonso felt that bar a bit of bad luck off the line he could have been in the fight for the win himself.

“I wasn’t in a position to fight for the win after the unlucky start,” he said. “Sometimes you win some positions at the first corner and sometimes you lose them.

“This time I lost positions and that compromised my race.”

As for next season, Alonso said previously he feels the running order when the new cars take to the track will be a complete unknown, with “no guarantees” about where Alpine, or any team, will stand.

But although he has been improving as the season has gone on, the two-time former World Champion says his team have already put their focus onto 2022.

“We are improving, but hopefully we will learn more things in the second part of the year to prepare better for 2022, which is the main objective,” he said.