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Fernando Alonso admitted that Red Bull is 'in a different league' altogether after Max Verstappen took pole for the 2022 F1 Canadian GP.
Alonso and Alpine set the timing charts alight with the fastest time in FP3 at an almost water-logged Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The two-time world champion followed it up by claiming P2 behind the Dutchman, much to the surprise and delight of the F1 world.
In a post-session press conference, Alonso was asked about his and the team's expectations going into a rain-marred qualifying session. The Spaniard said:
“I don’t really know. I mean, we were P1 in FP3 this morning. So it seemed that we were OK in wet conditions, but it was not really wet. From Q2 onwards it was nearly dry at the end. So, in a way, I was thinking, ‘why should it not be a little bit wetter and rain a little bit now’ as maybe that was the best thing for us. But yeah, eventually at the end it was not necessary and we were also OK in the semi-dry conditions. But the car was fast yesterday, on dry, fast on the long-run pace as well, fast on wet conditions this morning and now as well. So, so far it has been a very competitive weekend.”
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The 40-year-old was also asked if he knew where he lost just over half a second to championship leader Verstappen. Fernando Alonso said:
“That’s a lot! I think they are in a different league, for sure. It was not our in our wildest dreams to be on pole position. And so we take the first row, for sure. And that’s maybe better than any expectation. But let’s see, I think we’re still missing a little bit of downforce, a little bit of total grip in the car. We’ve been working a lot on the tyre degradation. Also, yesterday a lot of set-up changes. So yeah, I think we are better prepared than any other race so far this year. So let’s finish the job tomorrow.”
Alonso will be starting on the front row of the grid at an F1 race for the first time in 3619 days since the 2012 German GP with Ferrari. To put it into context, Lewis Hamilton only had 18 wins in F1 then.
Fernando Alonso P2 start for 2022 F1 Canadian GP 'a good boost of motivation' for Alpine
Fernando Alonso felt his superb performance during qualifying for the 2022 F1 Canadian GP was a good source of motivation.
Speaking at the aforementioned press conference after he claimed a P2 grid position for the start of the race, the Spaniard was asked what this meant for the team. Alonso said:
“I mean, they are very happy now. So they are drinking a few beers, I guess. So that’s always a good boost of motivation for everyone and I think they’ve been working flat out like everybody to bring new parts to the car. In Baku, we introduced a new significant update on the side pods and rear wing as well so to get a nice result is obviously a bonus for later in the year because they are working day and night for this.”
Fernando Alonso has scored points consecutively in the last three races of the season and will hope to carry that trend forward in Montréal. The veteran's El Plan is to try and overtake pole-sitter Max Verstappen in the first corner of the opening lap of the race.
