Fernando Alonso explained that damage to his floorboard caused him to lose performance in Q3 of qualifying in Austria. Without this, the Spaniard believes he could start from the third row in Saturday's sprint race
Fernando Alonso had a rare qualifying behind Esteban Ocon at the Austrian GP. On Friday (8), the Spaniard was ninth in Q3, while his Alpine teammate was sixth. The two-time champion explained that he had a damaged floorboard that limited him in setting the pole position.
Alonso imagined himself starting from the third row in the sprint race in Austria if it weren't for the floor problem. Still, he understands that Alpine has a very competitive car at the Red Bull Ring.
"The car was very competitive today and it was good to be in Q3 again. Except that I had a broken floorboard after escaping on the first lap of Q3 and then I lost performance from the damage. I think without this problem I could have fought for a top-5 or top-6 finish, which would have been great for the sprint race tomorrow," he said.
The two-time world champion wants to use Saturday's short race to reposition himself for Sunday and then score good points again, as he has been doing in recent stages.
"Coming from ninth place, our goal needs to be to recover some positions tomorrow, which I'm sure we can do. Overall, a competitive Friday from us, I hope for a fun sprint and that we score well on Sunday," he added.
Alonso is tenth in the 2022 season with 28 points, 11 behind Ocon. Alpine is fifth in the Constructors' World Championship, but is getting closer and closer to McLaren.
GRANDE PRÊMIO follows LIVE and INREAL TIME all the activities of the Austrian GP weekend. The sprint race is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. (GMT-3) on Saturday.