Forty-two years old on his identity card but his body and soul are those of a kid who has fun on karts. Fernando Alonso in Netherlands returns to the podium giving Aston Martin hope again after a particularly difficult period before the break. The team has been working on updates brought to the Dutch track, and Fernando's second place is a very valuable result. At the end the Asturian also admitted that he had thought of an almost impossible attack on Verstappen. In short, the enthusiasm has never faded. And who knows, maybe Aston won't get back to the one at the beginning of the championship and may not actually be able to give the victory that Nando dreamed of.
Difficult race but the car ran
As several riders underlined, Zandvoort was an all-or-nothing race, in which not only the performances but also the strategy with the rain arriving in two phases of the race influenced the outcome. However, Alonso found a car that thrived in these conditions. This allowed him to fight until he obtained a second place. “Si it was a very intense and complicated race due to the rain but we were very fast. We stopped a lap late but the car was running. In these conditions you need to have confidence in the machine. I trusted it and enjoyed it. Three years ago when Zandvoort returned to the calendar I wouldn't have expected to be able to get on the podium and today it will be special to be able to share it with Max and Pierre. This is one of those races where it is difficult to find and maintain concentration but this is a special track with an atmosphere that allows you to always stay focused.”
The attack on Max
With the red flag and a wet restart to manage, everyone's imagination turned to a possible attack by Alonso against Verstappen. A scenario which, although suggestive, was not taken into much consideration by the Spaniard who preferred the security of an excellent second place. An important factor especially because he gives certain points from a championship perspective. The fight for second place in the builders it is in fact currently contested between three teams: Ferrari, Mercedes and Aston Martin. The Maranello team lost important points in Zandvoort with Leclerc's out and were once again overtaken by Aston. “I'm happy for Max, I thought about trying to overtake, but then I told myself that it wasn't worth it because I probably wouldn't have been able to keep it on track. I kept calm and I preferred to keep second place.”
