Fernando Alonso was first penalized for contact with Carlos Sainz in the Sprint and then took third position at the end of qualifying for the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix
April 20, 2024
CFive very long years have passed since the last edition of Chinese Grand Prixand now the Formula 1 has finally returned to Shanghai, a track that debuted on the Circus calendar twenty years ago. Things have definitely changed since then but since 2004, the name of still stands out in the current grid Fernando Alonso, protagonist of an amazing race in 2005, when he gave the constructors’ championship to Renault. At the fifth seasonal event in 2024, the Asturian continues to have fun aboard his Aston Martin despite the penalty which was inflicted on him this morning.
Nohe short 100 km race, which saw Max Verstappen triumph, was held a hand-to-hand fight between Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz for third position behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. The two compatriots were the protagonists of one brawl to the death with the Ferrari driver from Madrid having found the right space to overtake the Aston Martin driver in turn 6 side by side. When Sainz believed that the maneuver had ended positively for him, the “old fox” from Asturias tried to recover his third position. A thought too optimistic For Alonso which, launching itself into the integer of 9, he damaged both his car and that of Sainz. The 42-year-old ended his race prematurely due to a puncture and in the process the FIA decided to impose a 10 second penalty (practically nothing since it should only be applied to the result of the Sprint which Alonso finished with a DNF) And three penalty points on the licence.
NoDespite this episode, after only four hours, Fernando Alonso returned to the track to take part in the traditional qualifying sessions which determined the starting grid for the Chinese Grand Prix, starting tomorrow morning at 09:00. The Asturian achieved the third best time conquering the second row behind pole man Max Verstappen and the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez. “I don’t know how far Checo is, but I had a problem at turns 1 and 2, I wondered whether or not to abort the lap but then it paid off not to do it. We’ll see if tomorrow we can achieve today’s result. We have done small set-up changes in view of the race tomorrow and we will have some answers” commented the Aston Martin driver, fresh from renewal, at the end of the timed session.
Tags: Chinese qualifying Alonso penalised tomorrow materialize todays results Formula
