Fernando Alonso changed his engine in Austin, which condemned him to face the United States Grand Prix from the nineteenth position. This move had several positive readings. On the one hand, the Asturian took advantage of a circuit in which Alpine had not been competitive to change the power unit and face the end of the championship with a new engine. On the other, starting from the back of the grid gave him a great opportunity to add a good number of overtaking, thinking about the Overtake Award , the title that is being played with Sebastian Vettel .
Alonso faced the United States Grand Prix with 95 overtaking behind him by 96 from Vettel; that is to say, only one of the four-time champion. However, the German also changed his engine, so he started eighteenth in Austin, just ahead of Fernando Alonso . Although Sebastian Vettel was able to climb up to 10th, the Spanish rider was forced to drop out with four laps to go. Even so, the Spaniard added five valuable overtakes for the Overtake Award . Vettel, for his part, added one more, so he will face the remaining five races with two ahead of Alonso.
Like Fernando Alonso , Carlos Sainz added five overtakes in Austin. The Ferrari driver is the third in contention in the fight for the Overtake Award with 95 overtaking by 102 by Sebastian Vettel and 100 by Alonso.
What is the Overtake Award?
On August 24, with the Formula 1 season already underway, Ben Pincus announced in a statement the creation of the Overtake Award. “We are very happy to expand our partnership with Crypto.com . Together we premiered the Overtak Award, which will enter Formula 1 this season , adding to the collaboration we already had with sprint qualifications. This award will reward drivers with the most instinct for overtaking , an instinct that is also necessary when you work in the world of cryptocurrency ”, declared the director of commercial unions of Formula 1.
Questioned about said award in Bild , Sebastian Vettel assured that it does not have much meaning for him. “ It’s fun whether you count overtaking or not . Ideally, you shouldn’t beat anyone all year long and win every race. Of course it is fun to overtake and it is not always easy . If you are successful, it is a good feeling ”, he added about it.
As for Fernando Alonso , his goal for the remainder of the season is to try to get on the podium, something that will be easier with his new engine. ” That is the goal , we have been a little more competitive these last races, sixth in the classification in Russia, we started sixth in Turkey, so we are definitely being more competitive, hopefully we can continue like this,” he said at the previous press conference. to the United States Grand Prix.
The fight between Fernando Alonso and Vettel
Before traveling to Austin, several people recalled Fernando Alonso’s passage through Ferrari, where he was runner-up three times, three times behind Sebastian Vettel. One of them was Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. The one who was president of the Italian team said: “I have to watch the races alone. I ‘ve already smashed two televisions . One, when Massa lost the World Cup, a unique thing in the world. Pam! I smashed it with a bang. The other, when, with Alonso, we lost the World Cup in Abu Dhabi in 2010 ”.
Although the Spaniard arrived in Abu Dhabi with an advantage over the then Red Bull driver, his rival ended up winning at the Yas Island Circuit. Fernando Alonso, who started third, finished seventh that race. Sebastian Vettel was proclaimed Formula 1 world champion for the first time while Alonso did not get his third world championship by only 4 points .
In 2012 Fernando Alonso also reached the last race with options to be champion. Then the Asturian finished second in the Brazilian Grand Prix and Vettel did so in sixth position. Even so, the latter ended up winning with a 3-point advantage over Alonso.
Subsequently, Fernando Alonso would once again be runner-up with Ferrari in 2013 after a Sebastian Vettel who that year would win his fourth and last World Championship to date. The battle between the two has now been rekindled by the Overtake Award . This award gives them the option of adding a title that they do not have in their brilliant record. Who will end up winning this vibrant battle for the Overtake Award?
