Fernando Alonso , who was sixth in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, is having a difficult return to Formula 1. In an atypical 2021, the drivers have only had a day and a half of preseason to get to their new cars, which has meant a handicap for all those who have changed teams. This is something that is accentuated in the case of Alonso, since he has been away from the great circus for two years. To make matters worse, the Asturian was run over by a car while training on a bicycle. Fernando Alonso had to recover in record time to be able to do the preseason. However, as Antonio Lobato has revealed, the Spaniard drags a sequel to that incident.
“When I was in Barcelona I spoke to him in the paddock and asked him about the blow to the mouth. They have to remove the titanium plate, but I realized that he had a bandage on his leg and he told me it was from the blow with the bike . And it is probable that some small sequel will have ”, said Antonio Lobato in Radio Marca .
Just before the preseason started, Fernando Alonso made allusion in Bahrain to the two titanium plates: “ On the professional and driving side I am one hundred percent . Another thing is the personal side, because at the end of the season I will have to remove two titanium plates that I have in my upper jaw ”.
“ I honestly don’t expect any problems . I have trained well in the last two or three weeks, I have been in the simulator and the preparations have not been affected except for some marketing events that I had to delay ”, he added, downplaying his accident.
Alonso has been surpassed by Ocon
And it is that Fernando Alonso , who has been surpassed by Esteban Ocon in the first races, although he is already ahead of his partner in the classification, has never used the accident he suffered as an excuse. “It is impressive what he is currently achieving. I’m giving my 100%, and obviously that’s not enough to be at that level at the moment , so I need to keep improving ”, he declared about the Frenchman.
What Fernando Alonso has done to justify his performance compared to Esteban Ocon has been to allude to a peculiarity of Alpine: “I remember that in the first races, when Carlos joined Renault, he was not as fast as Hulkenberg. And you could say that Daniel was slower than Nico in 2019, and then he was very good in 2020, his second year. At the same time, Esteban was suffering last year with Daniel and now he is well in his second year, so it seems that it is a team that is a little different from the others and needs a greater adaptation ”.
Alonso’s difficult adaptation
Regarding his adaptation, Fernando Alonso has also stated: “ The start of the season is not the best possible schedule for a rider who is new . I had Imola and Portugal, two circuits that I haven’t driven on for years or never, like in Portimao, and the others drove four months ago and then two city circuits, so the first six races are very challenging to adapt ”. ” I thought that in three or four races I would be one hundred percent and now I think it will take me eight or nine, ” added the two-time champion.
Fortunately for Fernando Alonso, Formula 1 has said goodbye to the urban circuits. “ On the urban circuits the preparation of the tires is helping , in some way, our opponents to increase their performance . They are fighting for pole position now, but we do not believe that this is the improvement of the car: it is only how they warm up the tires for a street circuit ”, he declared, alluding to the pole positions harvested by Ferrari both in Monaco and in Baku. “ There are no urban circuits after this . Even Singapore we don’t have it anymore, so maybe we will return to a more normal performance ”, added a Fernando Alonso who has been optimistic for the French Grand Prix.
Lobato believes that Alonso could be champion with a winning car
Antonio Lobato has also been asked about the importance of single-seaters in Formula 1. “ An extraordinary driver cannot be a champion if he is in a mediocre car . How many drivers on the grid could be champions with Hamilton’s Mercedes… but if Hamilton wasn’t there? ”, He admitted.
“ Bottas could be champion, in fact he finished second; Verstappen, sure; Fernando, sure; Carlos, sure; Ocon, sure … Mazepin could be champion? It would be necessary to see how it manages the pressure, the same could not; Latifi, I don’t know, maybe not; Stroll, I have my doubts; Vettel, surely champion. Mick Schumacher? He is too young, just as pressure can… ”, continued Antonio Lobato .
“If there is a difference between the car in charge and your teammate is not Hamilton, there are many drivers who could be champions . But you have to have a minimum, not only talent and hands, which everyone has, also Mazepin ”, Lobato concluded.
