Fernando Alonso, Alpine, Albert Park, 2022

Alonso fears hydraulic failure in qualifying has cost him podium chance

2022 Australian Grand Prix

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Fernando Alonso said a hydraulic problem on his car caused his crash during Q3 while he was challenging for pole position.

The Alpine driver skidded into a barrier at turn 11 after experiencing problems with his down-shift in the middle of the corner. He had just set the fastest middle sector time of the session so far up to that point.

“We lost the hydraulics on the car so we lost the gear change and also the power steering and everything,” said Alonso, who was classified 10th after failing to set a time in Q3.

Alonso, who retired from the last race in Jeddah with a technical problem, said he could hardly believe his misfortune over the opening rounds.

“I think we could fight for pole position today,” he said. “I’ve been waiting many years for that possibility.

“It’s amazing that we’ve been so unlucky in these first three races of the championship. I was doing, I think, probably one of the best weekends in years, and it is frustrating now.”

It remains to be seen whether Alpine will have to replace any parts on Alonso’s car which may incur grid penalties. He is hopeful they will be able to salvage some points this weekend.

“I think we will try to fight for some points but I think a podium was there for us this weekend and we missed another opportunity,” he said.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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15 comments on “Alonso fears hydraulic failure in qualifying has cost him podium chance”

  1. He was on it every session. Car looked to be the best he had since Ferrari days.

  2. El Pain this :-(

  3. I initially thought he lost focus over an unnecessarily late torque change, but nothing he could do in the end.
    He merely got stuck in 4th gear.

  4. A podium? 0 chance. Alpine will be at least 1 or even 2 seconds off the pace. Plus, even if Alonso was starting from P3, he would still break his car or finish behind Ocon.

    1. Nonsense!

    2. Car looked genuinly good.

      A few failures and they would be there on a podium.. P5 – > P3 is not a big stretch.

    3. nonsense twice!

    4. Nonesense thrice!

      He was 1 or 2 *tenths* away, not 1 or 2 seconds.

  5. Alonso has the best S2, ahead of Leclercz and without completing a full lap.

  6. Why do some people have to be so negative towards Alonso! What makes you an expert!

  7. For once there is promising pace in the car, and of course it breaks down. Few people have worse luck than Alonso.

    1. @d0senbrot I believe this is not bad luck, but Alonso is seriously overdriving the car. Being a talent like Alonso (and, since I will mention it later, Hamilton) is a bit of a double-edged sword at times. In Hamilton’s “bad luck” year, he also overdrove the mechanical limits of the car. People rushed to defend him, even going so far as being conspiratorial in saying it was intentional (and Hamilton even chose not to deny that being possible once or twice), but the hard and harsh fact is there will be a mechanical limit to these cars, and the drivers who can push them to the absolute limit will break them more often.

      In this case, Alonso is clearly driving beyond the mechanical limits of the car. If Hamilton or Max were in the Alpine, it would do the same thing, because they are also drivers who drive to the utmost limit.

      1. someone or something
        10th April 2022, 0:41

        Alonso’s hydraulics failed because he’s overdriving the car? Lol.
        You are not a clown, you are a whole circus.

  8. Alonso seemed to have found a way around the car aero issues, and he was driving back to the his Renault days of telling the car what to do. He’s lifting Alpine spirits up. Until now, he’s been the positive energy he should have been after his two titles.

    The question is: Can he keep the spirits high? How long until some more DNFs or Ocon not getting out of his way will make him spit fire again?

    I really hope he’s learned that lesson. Alpine showed potential.

  9. This is just so frustrating for an Alonso fan. Why does Alonso have all the mechanical gremlins? How far can this go? Gutted! Can you only fight for points tomorrow Alonso? Not a podium? A third place at least? Go aggressive on strategy. Hope the car doesn’t break down again and you don’t earn any penalty for parts changes. You deserve a lot better – the injustice of life…

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