The 2022 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix marked the return of the country of the Rising Sun to the calendar of the highest category of motorsport after three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, one of the most recognized names on the grid, that of Fernando Alonso, had not appeared in the Suzuka records since 2018, since after his time at McLaren he decided to leave the Grand Circus in his first retirement.
Now, with the Alpine team and the confirmation that his replacement will be Frenchman Pierre Gasly, the man from Oviedo is trying to say goodbye to Enstone with the best taste in his mouth on one of his favorite tracks. On Friday, in the first free practice session, the Spaniard managed to set the fastest time in the rain to sign a Spanish double with Carlos Sainz in his wake, and these good feelings were maintained on Saturday morning with a fourth place, dry.
With his A522 he prepared to take to the track in qualifying on Saturday, and although it was clear that the Red Bulls and the Ferraris had a better pace, Alonso wanted to put up a fight, even placing second at times in a Q2 in which Sergio Pérez was the best after Verstappen and the Maranello duo failed to do a lap on new soft tyres.
Already in the final round, everything seemed to indicate that he would be the fastest French single-seater, but in the last moments, and after placing fifth, he dropped places to the final seventh position , even behind his teammate, Esteban Ocon, who inherited that place.
Getting out of the car, Alonso expressed his feelings about the return to Suzuka in a Formula 1: “Having few dry laps in FP3, we had to improvise a bit for qualifying in terms of set-up, and I think it has been well in the end with both cars in Q3”.
“It’s a good position for tomorrow, on the clean side,” the Asturian told DAZN F1 after learning that he will be seventh on the starting grid, along with George Russell in the fourth row. “The weather is a bit changeable for tomorrow, so we’ll see how it goes.”
When asked about what would benefit him more, a race in the rain or a bright sun , the Alpine man replied: “I think in the wet we would go a little better, or so it seems. I think the best thing would be a race a little bit better.” changeable, from dry to wet, and take advantage of an opportunity, risk more than the cars in front of us, which are playing for more important things, for the championship, so we can risk a little more. Hopefully that’s the case”.
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