Alonso stole the first Grand Prix of the year: he cut Hamilton and Ferrari in the most difficult corner of the track. Got the podium

He attacked as quickly as possible.

In “Formula 1” sensation: 41-year-old Fernando Alonso dragged yesterday’s middle peasant “Aston Martin” to the podium in the first race of the season. And absolutely deserved: the Spaniard was the best (except for Red Bull) controlled tire wear and tactically outplayed all the surrounding direct rivals.

However, the matter was not limited to tactical superiority alone: ​​the two-time champion and wheel to wheel showed what he was capable of.

Just look at this masterful attack on Lewis Hamilton in the battle for fifth position: the seven-time champion did not expect any maneuver on the inside in this particular corner:

It’s just that this is the most difficult corner of the Bahrain track: it heavily loads the car, it is easy to block the wheels in it and it is almost impossible to overcome it on an unleveled car not along a wide trajectory. Usually this is a sure road to overbraking, a mistake, losing acceleration on the next straight and losing about a second.

Overtaking there on the inside without preparation and mistakes is something on the verge of genius, because no one usually expects this. It was considered impossible to drive that turn through such a narrow approach to the apex without locking up, since it is extremely difficult to pick up those few milliseconds when the car is already leveled, the speed is reduced and you can turn the steering wheel without harming the tires. However, Alonso pulled out this moment – and made the most unexpected attack on Hamilton! It is also impossible to calculate options for such a maneuver in advance – it was an instant decision.

Nearly 10 laps later, the Aston Martin driver was already pressing Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari on the same stretch on worn tires – and showed what happens when a driver demands too much from the tires in this bundle, locks the wheels and misses the apex with the acceleration point :

Outcome: an easy detour on a straight line without a direct struggle. It looks like the simplest maneuver, but how much work and pressure until that very turn!

Alonso also had another beautiful overtaking – George Russell had previously surrendered in a Mercedes:

Third place went to Aston Martin primarily because of a motor failure in Leclerc’s car, but who can say that Alonso didn’t deserve it? The fans chose him as the “driver of the day” – 53% of the vote!

“This is an amazing moment for the team. Finishing on the podium in the first race of the season – what Aston Martin managed to do during the winter and build the second fastest car – is simply amazing, – the Spaniard was happy after the finish. – It’s just incredible! Today we started not in the best way and we had to overtake rivals on the track in the race. It was really exciting, the adrenaline was off the charts.”