Fernando Alonso, Alpine’s Formula 1 driver, insisted race at the Sochi Autodrom was his personal best of this year’s season.
He claimed that his performance at Russian Grand Prix was a glimpse of an “ultra competitive” Alpine Formula 1 team.
Alpine put Alonso on the hard type tyres and the team chose to put late behind the Red Bull’s driver Sergio Perez. When all teams pitted Perez led the race with Alonso on his tail.
The Spaniard rose to third during heavy rain when he found more grip comparable to his competitors.
However, the team missed the right opportunity when Alonso pitted late. He came back on sixth after the pit exit.
“It was a good race obviously for us,” he said. “The best race of the year I have to say in terms of performance. The car felt very fast, a good balance throughout the race.
“We were keeping up the pace with Checo in the first stint. Then we switched to the medium tyre, and we were able to even overtake [Max] Verstappen at one point and pull away from him.
“Then it started a little bit drizzling on dry tyres and we overtook Daniel [Ricciardo], Checo and [Carlos] Sainz and we were P3. So I think the podium was possible today on merit, the car was flying. And I was very happy, but unfortunately the rain came five laps to the end.
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“Some people took some risks, some people other risks, and we were unlucky, or the podium [finishers] let’s say were very lucky today, but in these conditions it’s always a lottery.”
Alonso commented on losing the podium while gaining on the performance grounds. He said: “We seem ultra competitive, so we need to understand if we did something different here, try to keep [going] forward for the next events. Because the car was very fast, so that was a very positive sign.
“For sure, I think we should be on the podium today in terms of executing the race and driving. We were in front of Verstappen, we were pulling away from him, we were in front of Sainz.
“[Lando] Norris did an amazing race, and just by luck he is not on the podium or his first ever win in Formula 1. So when it rains, it’s just a very lucky factor.
“And I’m sad because when we are not competitive and we are P11 or P12, it never rains, so we never get lucky. And today that we are P3, today it just rained. So not sad. But definitely we are not very lucky.
“But every point we got this year is on merit, we never had any gifts this year. So I’m proud of every point that I took this year.”
