After having shown a really competitive performance throughout the weekend at the Australian Grand Prix, everything seemed to indicate that Fernando Alonso’s difference with respect to the faster teams would increase once they reached qualifying, however it was not.
In Q1 and Q2, the Asturian driver had no problem qualifying for the following rounds and, when he was doing his first lap of Q3, after staying a few thousandths off the best time in Sector 1 and after painting purple Sector 2, his car failed unexpectedly.
A hydraulic failure left the Alpine A522 totally locked up and Alonso was unable to turn once he reached turn 11. Inevitably, his destination was the wall, causing the red flag and finishing qualifying earlier than expected and again very frustratingly.
Speaking about his feelings, the Asturian was very angry and made some comments that hinted that perhaps he is beginning to suspect the fact that all the problems happen to him when he is being very competitive.
Asked if he was worried about his car failing, Alonso replied: “Only for my car [reliability] is a concern… the other car seems fine.”
“That’s why I say it’s a bit unfortunate, because if we have a reliability problem in both cars, then you have problems, it could be something that we need to fix.
“But it seems very random, just in my car and in the moments when we are fast. In Bahrain, when we were 9th or 10th, maybe you don’t care if the car stops because you lose only one point, but in Jeddah we were good and Today I think finishing in the top two or three was guaranteed, and that hurts,” said the Spanish Alpine rider.
While Esteban Ocon has not suffered any serious breakdown since the pre-season tests began in 2022, Fernando Alonso has already seen how the engine let him down on the last day of testing in Barcelona, he suffered a leak after the race in Bahrain , he he was stalled when fighting for sixth in Saudi Arabia and locked up at a time when he was undoubtedly fighting for pole position so many years later.
Beyond that, it must also be taken into account that the Spaniard premiered his third engine last Friday, the maximum limit allowed by the Formula 1 regulations for the entire course, putting his starting position at risk every weekend during the next 20 grands prix that still remain in the 2022 season.
