Fernando Alonso has admitted that he will be keeping close attention on the Formula 1 championship battle throughout the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The two-time World Drivers Champion will line up close to the title contenders as he will start on the third row from sixth at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Alonso’s qualifying result came as a pleasant surprise after a tough practice day, which exposed the limitations of Aston Martin’s AMR25 machine.
“I’m very, very happy,” Alonso expressed when speaking to media including Motorsport Week.
“A little bit unexpected, to be honest, P6. We had some concerns about this layout. We came here not very confident about the performance in Abu Dhabi.”
The early running on Friday only confirmed Aston Martin’s fears, according to Alonso.
“Yesterday the car felt not great, to be honest,” he admitted. “A lot of understeer, a lot of problems in the slow-speed corners.
“A lot of understeer, a lot of problems in the slow-speed corners.”
However, the Silverstone-based team decided to make immediate changes, with a more aggressive set-up direction, which could have saved its weekend.
“We changed the set-up overnight. We’ve been brave with some of the experiments that we tried overnight,” he explained.
“This morning, the car felt good, so we kept that setup for quali. Honestly, the car was more competitive than expected, so I’m happy for the team.”
With the car transformed, Alonso believes the improvement will carry over when it matters most. He remained confident he could match the pace of those ahead.
“With yesterday’s car we could not turn into the corners. Now we can turn the corners, so it will help not to crash,” he quipped.
Keeping an eye on the championship fight
While Alonso is fighting for crucial points in the Constructors’ Championship, he has admitted that he will be watching the title fight closely.
The Spaniard may not be fighting for the championship; however, he will be sharing the opening laps with three drivers still in contention.
And with the prospect of strategic games from Max Verstappen to disrupt the McLarens, Alonso knows he might have to think on his feet.
“I didn’t think about that,” he laughed when asked whether Verstappen could back up the field.
“Could there be chances that he’ll want others to jump onto two stops, maybe? Who knows? That’s interesting. Now I have something to work on tonight.”
Even if Verstappen tries to slow down the field, it may not change much for those further behind.
“Sometimes, even if he slows down, it’s still not enough for us to catch him. He needs to slow down a lot. We will try to do our race,” he added.
Still, Alonso, like F1 fans across the globe, will be enjoying the chaos in front. Yas Marina is lined with giant television screens around the racing line, allowing Alonso a perfect view.
“A lot,” Alonso smiled when asked how often he would check them.
“It’s a very easy circuit. Turn 3, you have a screen in the middle of your view. Turn 5, you have a screen on the inside, Turn 7, on the outside. And Turn 9, there are two. One on entry, one on exit. Plenty of screens. Tomorrow is going to be a fantastic show for us.”
Despite watching the fight, Alonso has stated that he has zero interest in becoming part of the story.
“I hope to be as far as possible from the fight,” Alonso mentioned. “Well, not too far, because I want to win the points, but not in the news on Monday.”
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