Alonso finished sixth in Saturday’s qualifying session for the Belgian Grand Prix, but moves up three places on the grid thanks to penalties from Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Esteban Ocon, leaving only Carlos Sainz and Checo Pérez ahead of him for the exit.
It’s not the first time this season that Alonso has started so high, after an impressive display in wet qualifying in Canada gave him second place on the grid, before slipping back in the race to finish ninth.
“I still have some sense of caution, because in Canada we were on the front row of the grid and we did a lot of things wrong there,” Alonso said after qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps.
“We didn’t take advantage of any safety cars, we went too long on the first set of tyres, we had battery problems. The races are on Sunday, not Saturday. I want to do a clean race this time.”
Fernando Alonso hasn’t finished higher than fifth this season, but he’s under no illusions despite his advanced place on the grid, because he hopes the faster cars will come back and eventually return Alpine to its usual spot on the grid. the middle zone.
“We have strong competitors that come out behind, the two Mercedes, they are very strong in race pace normally, and Verstappen will also end up reaching the podium positions,” said the Spaniard.
“So I think realistically being in the top five or six should be our normal position at the end of the race. But let’s see where we are at the end of the race.”
Cars starting from the front row of the grid at Spa often enjoy a first lap lead thanks to the slipstream afforded by the long straight from La Source , with Eau Rouge flat out, to the finish at Kemmel .
Asked about his chances on the first lap, Alonso said: “Maybe Checo and Carlos will touch each other at Turn 1 and I’ll have a free lane in front of me! That will be what I envision the night before the race.”
His Alpine team-mate Esteban Ocon put in his best qualifying performance of the season finishing fifth in Q3, but will start 17th after a power unit penalty.
Ocon admitted he was “really disappointed” to be at the back as he “knew they were going to be quick” at Spa, but remained hopeful of recovering to pick up some points.
“We have a fast enough car to be able to do it,” said Ocon, who will start directly behind Verstappen and Leclerc .
“There are a lot of cars around me that are going to be fighting and overtaking. I can stand there looking at what they are doing and follow them to pass me too.”
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