The return to activity on the circuits came with Friday’s day of the 2022 Belgian F1 Grand Prix at the legendary and renovated Spa-Francorchamps track, where the drivers encountered complicated conditions due to intermittent rain. One of those who encountered difficulties in setting up his car was Fernando Alonso, who went off the track a few times, but that did not prevent him from finishing seventh in the afternoon session.
The man from Oviedo, who is contesting his first race after announcing his signing for Aston Martin from the 2023 season , did not go beyond 14th place during the first free practice sessions, although he highlighted the return to the wheel of the Alpine in a very special circuit due to his history.
“First of all, it’s good to be back!” exclaimed the two-time world champion. “Driving Formula 1 cars at Spa-Francorchamps always gives you an adrenaline rush, so it was a fun Friday.”
One of the most important modifications to the Ardennes route is the one that has been made on the climb from Eau Rouge to the Raidillon , where the run-off meters have been increased to avoid serious accidents such as that of Anthoine Hubert in 2019 that cost him the life of the French pilot.
Fernando Alonso explained that Spa-Francorchamps, despite the works carried out during the winter, has not changed that much: “The changes in the circuit are not very different from before, only that the escape areas of the track are safer “.
However, that is not the key to the race, rather it will be the Pirelli that will decide the final result on Sunday: “We haven’t had stable weather conditions to test the tyres, so we still have a couple of things to assess tomorrow at free practice 3”.
“The car feels pretty good to drive here, so hopefully we’ll have another competitive weekend,” said the Spaniard.
The technical director of the French team, Pat Fry , was confident with the work that his two drivers did during Friday at the Belgian Grand Prix, and expects a good performance when he returns from the holidays.
“Both of today’s sessions have been affected by weather, which has made it difficult to get everyone’s programs done. From what we can tell in these conditions, our updates are working as expected and our times look promising,” said the engineer. of the Enstone team.
“In the morning, Esteban [Ocon] had a problem, which we have fully investigated and understood, and which should not affect us for the rest of the weekend,” explained Fry. “We are also carrying out a complete power unit change on his car, as are other teams.
“The length of the track and its configuration minimize the impact. With little rain forecast for the rest of the weekend, we can expect a cleaner Saturday and Sunday,” said Alpine’s chief technical officer.
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