Fernando Alonso was 'driving kamikaze' after another reliability issue at 2022 F1 Canadian GP

Fernando Alonso has claimed that he was “driving kamikaze” to try and get DRS after enduring yet another reliability issue at the 2022 Canadian GP.

Rueing his bad luck, the Spaniard naturally felt that he could have achieved a better result without the problem. Speaking in a post-race interview with PitPass, Alonso said:

"We had an engine problem on Lap 20 where we cut the energy very early on the straights as soon as we exited the corners. We tried to fix it, but it didn't work. Then the virtual safety cars... lucky or unlucky, that could change the race. But we could still maybe be fighting for P3, P4."

He went on to add:

"But then when the engine problem came, it was just trying to survive, trying to get the DRS, driving kamikaze in the corners before the detection, because the DRS was my only safety on the straights after that."

Fernando Alonso was in excellent form throughout the Canadian GP weekend and seemed on course to take pole during the early stages of qualifying. His searing single-lap pace eventually earned him his first front row start in more than a decade.

Heading into the race, the Alpine driver was full of hope and expected to challenge for the lead at lights-out. However, his luck immediately went south after a bad start left him trailing Verstappen by over a second.

Poor strategic choices and reliability issues further hampered Alonso’s podium hopes and eventually dropped him behind his teammate Esteban Ocon. Clearly frustrated with his results, Alonso called for better reliability and felt that somehow most of Alpine’s issues seem to only affect him. He added:

"It's another reliability issue on car 14 only. That's disappointing. I'm here trying to be better than sixth and seventh."

Reliability costed Fernando Alonso a Canadian GP podium

Fernando Alonso believes he could have taken his first podium finish of the season at the Canadian GP without reliability issues.

While he conceded that he lacked the pace to challenge Verstappen and Sainz, Alonso felt that he could have held off Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes to take P3. Speaking to PitPass, he said:

"Luckily we didn't retire the car and we still scored a few points. But until that point, I think we were fighting for the podium at the beginning of the race."

After starting on the front row, Fernando Alonso took the chequered flag in Montreal in a disappointing seventh place behind Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon. The Spaniard’s woes were not over, however, as the stewards launched an investigation post-race into his last lap move against Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas.

Alonso was found to have weaved too many times on the back straight while defending against Bottas, and received a 5-second penalty, dropping him into P9.