SAKHIR, Bahrain — Max Verstappen won the race, but the Bahrain Grand Prix belonged to Fernando Alonso. Alonso’s podium on his Aston Martin debut not only showed the excitement around the team’s car was justified (if not slightly overblown at points this week), but has also seen one of the most talented drivers of the modern Formula One era propelled back into a competitive position.
Alonso rolls back the years
Fernando Alonso, the grid’s oldest and most experienced driver, is so much fun to watch when he’s in a competitive car, and Sunday evening was no different.
The man who told Netflix he relishes being F1’s antihero was the saviour of the opening race, which otherwise would have been severely lacking in genuine entertainment. What’s more, the Aston Martin looked like it can be a podium regular this year.
“That’s why this performance feels good, because it was on merit,” Alonso said. “I think the last few occasions I was competitive, like Canada last year, it was a wet qualifying … there was always special circumstances.
“We were very strong in testing, strong in free practice and strong in the race. Feel proud to be part of this organisation right now. These are the starting points right now, we changed concept, so it’s a new philosophy and we need to find more performance in the coming months.”
The result included some superb pieces of overtaking. Alonso and Hamilton are considered great rivals but actual track battles between them in recent years have been scarce.
They had a thrilling wheel-to-wheel fight in Hungary 2021, when Alonso’s defensive moves helped his then teammate Esteban Ocon win the race. The pair also collided in Belgium last year, after which Alonso suggested that Hamilton only knows how to race when he’s in the lead.
There were no collisions this time around, as the two men — who have a combined nine world championships and 135 race victories — treated fans to a brilliant wheel-to-wheel battle mid-way through the race.
Alonso’s move to pass his former McLaren teammate down the inside of Turn 10 was great to watch, as was their tight battle for position over the two previous laps. Hamilton deserves credit for a great undercut which saw him keep the position at Turn 4, but the pace of the Aston Martin was clear to see.
Fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz, the man who grew up idolising Alonso, was up next….
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at www.espn.com – RPM…