Fernando Alonso asserts Ferrari got “lucky” with the timing of the Safety Car to hold onto the final podium place with Charles Leclerc in Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Despite starting from pole position, Leclerc was swiftly overhauled by the two Red Bulls early in the race and resigned to competing for third at best.
Alonso, who had made strong progress after a malfunctioning DRS problem placed him eighth on the grid, began closing on the Ferrari in the closing stages of the race.
But the Spaniard was unable to get close enough to mount an attack at any point and had to settle for finishing off the podium for the first time in 2023.
However, Alonso maintains that Ferrari’s tyre degradation concerns would have been a determining factor in the end result if not for the intervention of the Safety Car on Lap 10 granting it the chance to make an early switch to the hard compound.
“I think they got lucky,” he said to Sky Sports after the race. “The hard tyre had less degradation than expected.
“We put on the hard tyres when the Safety Car came, and it was 38 laps to the end. It held on quite okay, then there was some clouds at the end and the track temp dropped.”
“I think on the medium tyres, the Ferrari’s had massive degradation in the first stint. So, in a normal hot race I think they will struggle more.
“Today, was good for them, but Miami will be a different thing.”
With Aston Martin struggling with DRS problems throughout the weekend and also not getting the AMR23 in its ideal set-up window, Alonso considers it promising for the Silverstone side that it came within touching distance of beating both Ferraris on an improved outing for the Italian outfit.
“The summary of the weekend is that Aston [Martin] had a tricky Baku weekend with the DRS problems, and set-up,” he explained. “We were not that fast in any of the sessions, but still one second from the podium, and Ferrari had a perfect weekend.
“Pole position for the main race and the Sprint race, and a super-fast car. They were one second from the Aston so we should be happy.
“I think we are very aware of the situation of the team. We are in a situation that we didn’t expect to be in, and we have a lot of talented people back in the factory, but we’re still a small team compared to the rest. The job everyone has done is extraordinary.”
Lance Stroll came home seventh in the sister Aston Martin car after an eventful race that saw the Canadian lose out to Lewis Hamilton with a snap of oversteer at Turn 16.
Nevertheless, Stroll was satisfied with the points return the team amassed during a difficult weekend in Baku to hold onto second place in the Constructors’ standings.
“I think it was a good day for us with all things considered with everything that has gone on,” he emphasised. “It has been a lot more difficult than the last few weekends but not really as quick, but today we came away with some good points.
“Had I not lost it at Turn 16, we could have held onto P6 and put pressure on Carlos [Sainz]. We were more in the fight then qualifying or the sprint.”
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