Formula 1 veteran Fernando Alonso failed to make it past Q1 in GP qualifying in Las Vegas. So he expects a tough race. He also has no faith in the rest of the season.
The Aston Martin team had no reason to be happy in qualifying for the third-to-last round of the season in Las Vegas, as all the GP stars in the green race from Silverstone failed to make it past Q1. The old Fernando Alonso had to settle for 17th place. His teammate Lance Stroll even made it to the end.
Alonso’s assessment was correct. “It was difficult, but that didn’t surprise us because we already had problems with our car for the last four or five months,” insisted the enthusiastic Spaniard. “Sometimes we managed to get to Q2, but sometimes we didn’t. “Unfortunately it wasn’t enough this time,” he explained sternly.
And about the upcoming GP he said: “We have a tough race ahead of us, we start from 17th and 20th place. And of course we want to improve.” But he does not want to deceive himself: “It is impossible that we will be able to do that this year. Because there are only three races left in the program and the main focus is next season. This year we have to accept that it will hurt a few more times.
Not hoping to gain any great insight into the race, he waved off the question. “There is not much to learn, although of course you can always take something with you,” explained the two-time champion, who also declared: “If you start too far back, you can also take risks with your strategy or tire choice. And we certainly won’t take normal way. But I think we need a bit of luck to get points because the cars in front of us are also fast. But we remain positive, even knowing that the next race will be painful for us.”
Qualifying, Las Vegas
01. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, 1:32,312 minutes
02. Carlos Sainz (L), Ferrari, 1:32.410
03. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, 1:32,664
04. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, 1:32,783
05. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:32,797
06. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, 1:33.008
07. Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bulls, 1:33,029
08. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, 1:33.033
09. Nico Hulkenberg (D), Haas, 1:33.062
10. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, 1:48,106
11. Stephen Ocon (F), Alpine, 1:33.221
12. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, 1:33.297
13. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Sauber, 1:33,566
14. Franco Colapinto (RA), Williams, 1:34.749
15. Liam Lawson (NZ), Racing Bulls, 1:34,257
16. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, 1:34,155
17. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, 1:34.258
18. Alex Albon (T), Williams, 1:34,425
19. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Sauber, 1:34.430
20. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, 1:34,484
