Before crashing in Q3 due to a hydraulics issue, Alonso believed he was in genuine contention for a podium finish in Australia last weekend.
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Fernando Alonso believes Alpine has the potential to make a positive step forward this season but admits the team will struggle to close the gap to Ferrari at the front. Before crashing in Q3 due to a hydraulics issue, Alonso believed he was in genuine contention for a podium finish in Australia last weekend. He eventually finished out of the points in 17th.
“To match the Ferrari pace, I think it’s going to be difficult because obviously, we are eight-tenths, or one second behind at the moment, looking at the first two races in qualifying performance,” said Alonso.
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“To close that gap, it will be a little bit too optimistic – but let’s see. We need to keep working, and it’s so early days on these cars, that you may find something much bigger than what you thought at the beginning, when you test it on the wind tunnel, and maybe you make a huge step.”
Imola will not produce an exciting first sprint race of the season, according to Charles Leclerc. The first of three sprint race weekends for the 2022 season will be held in Emilia-Romagna. The grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix will be determined by Saturday’s race, with more points awarded to the top finishers. The Monegasque driver is sitting atop the drivers’ championship table after three races, winning two and finishing second once. However, the Ferrari driver has admitted that he was unsure how thing would turn out on the weekend.
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“I had completely forgotten that we have a sprint race there,” Leclerc said as per RaceFans. “There are a lot of things that are going to be quite crazy in Imola for us and obviously other that it will also be a race weekend where we’ll have a sprint race. Whether it’s the right track to do so or not, I don’t know – I think we’ll have the answer after the weekend. With these cars, also, maybe it’s a bit easier to follow, so hopefully it should be an exciting sprint race and race.”
