Alonso ‘s classification for the 2022 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix was very encouraging after having seen his times in the last free practice session and in the first two rounds (Q1 and Q2), but it ended earlier than expected after an accident when there were seven minutes left in the session.
Fernando Alonso was the only driver who had not yet completed a timed lap, and he was doing so when he lost control of the Alpine A522 and went off at turn 11 of the Melbourne circuit , impacting, although at low speed after passing through the gravel, Against the wall.
Video (only available in Spain) of Alonso’s accident in qualifying in Australia
Although at first glance it might seem like a mistake in a complicated area where other drivers have already failed (such as Lewis Hamilton on Friday), Alonso quickly explained what had happened over the radio: “Hydraulic problem, I couldn’t downshift.”
Thus, his Alpine had stayed in fourth gear , causing him to go off the track at a point on the Albert Park circuit where, after a small gravel loophole, there was a wall.
Alonso had been fifth in Q1 and also fifth in Q2, as first of the rest. He aspired to that position, on the third row of the grid, and after seeing Esteban Ocon’s lap that left him precisely in fifth place, the Spaniard had everything to place himself behind the Ferrari and the Red Bull.
However, his crash without setting a time forces him to start 10th in Sunday’s race, and will mean that his team will have to do extra work to fix a car that has been behaving very well all weekend.
In addition, Alonso’s accident also ruined the classification of the other Spanish driver, Carlos Sainz. The man from Madrid was about to complete his lap when the race direction established a red flag for Fernando’s KO, and as required by the regulations, his time was withdrawn for not having crossed the finish line when the session was stopped.
There were still almost seven minutes to go when the green flag came back, but Ferrari had a technical problem with Sainz’s car (it wouldn’t start) and that ended up complicating things. The #55 was able to start at the last minute, but he did not have time to prepare well for the lap and ended up qualifying ninth, while his teammate Charles Leclerc took pole.
