Alonso clings to Brazil’s ‘unknown element’

The Formula 1 The race this weekend Brazil The penultimate date of the season that will appear with sprint race With the weather in doubt, the protagonist has been many times in that historical test. there comes Alonso Yet another regrettable weekend in Mexico, where he added another retirement due to reliability.

After KO in the last race, Fernando Alonso 11 points behind teammate Ocon, but sees in Sao Paulo GB (That’s what the jackpot has actually been called since 2021) Good chance.

The Jose Carlos Pace Autodrome in Interlagos It is a track in which the Spaniard keeps good memories (there Crowned in 2005 s 2006), but also other, more bitter seasons such as the end of the 2007 and 2012 seasons, where he arrived with title options.

Now, two weeks after ending her relationship with him Alpsthe Spaniard is clinging to this history of crazy testing due to the weather and the circuit itself to enjoy an intense weekend that will get the classification on Friday and two races (one of which is in the sprint, on Saturday).

“There is always an unknown element when going to Brazil,” the two-time champion said in the team preview. “There are often very interesting races and results. The weather is hard to predict and we’ve seen some quite historic races in the past due to the unpredictability. We will likely see mixed weather conditions in qualifying, sprint race or feature race.”

Additionally, changes to the 2022 sprint format (the top ten score now) may help their team position themselves in the battle for fourth place from McLaren: “Thanks to the sprint coordination, we have two attempts to score points and consolidate our lead over McLaren ahead of the last Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.”

With this, Alonso will have played no less than 19 grand prix in Brazil, the equivalent of domestic races Rubens Barrichello As a driver with more appearances in that circuit. However, despite winning his two titles there and adding eight podiums, he has never won at Interlagos, finishing third in 2006, 2008 and 2012, a track, in addition to the mentioned setbacks. He witnessed his first major accident in F1.

Stephen Ocon He also sees an opportunity for his team to settle for fourth, and admits he loves the challenge of a sprint at the weekend: “This format forces all the teams to give their best from the start, rather than doing it until Saturday afternoon, for example , I love that either “.

“There are more points available to grab, and that’s usually a good show for the fans. It’s the last big boost of the season, and it ends next week in Abu Dhabi. I know everyone in the track and in both manufacturers are giving 110% to finish on top,” concluded the Frenchman. .

Alpine, which is two points off its overall equation reached in 2021, has 153 points with two races remaining, seven points more than McLaren (146).