Fernando Alonso bemoans lack of luck after podium slips away

Alonso, Alpine, Russia — Photo: © LAT Images

Russian Grand Prix

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Alonso bemoans lack of luck after podium slips away

Alonso climbed to third but dropped back in rain-affected Russian race

Ian Parkes & Will Gray

Wednesday 29 September 2021 11:40

Fernando Alonso bemoaned his misfortune at the Russian Grand Prix after seeing a podium slip away as rain fell in the closing stages of the race.

Spaniard Alonso started sixth on the grid and moved his way up to third during the race but fell back due to the late rain as others around him gambled on intermediate tyres at an earlier stage, falling back to where he started.

The podium would have been the two-time champion's first since returning to F1 at the start of the season.

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He said: “I think we should [have been] on the podium in terms of executing the race and driving.

“The car felt very fast, good balance throughout the race, we were keeping up with the pace with Checo [Perez] in the first stint then we switched to medium tyres and we were able to overtake [Max] Verstappen at one point and pull away from him.

"It started drizzling and on dry tyres, we overlook Daniel [Ricciardo], Checo and [Carlos] Sainz, and we were P3. I think the podium was possible, on merit, the car was flying and I was very happy.

“Unfortunately the rain came and some people took some risks, and we were unlucky. In these conditions, it is always a lottery. In normal conditions, we were very good, so I am happy.”

Alonso looking to learn from “ultra-competitive” Alpine

Alonso has called for his team to do a deep dive into the reasons for his strong performance on Sunday, in the hope that it can continue to perform at that level for the remaining races of the year.

He is also hoping that a little bit of luck comes his way at some point this season, having never had the chance to gamble when he has been running in less competitive positions.

He added: “We seemed ultra-competitive, so we need to understand if we did something different and try to keep forward for the next events, because the car was very fast, so that was a very positive sign.

“When it rains, it is just a very lucky factor and I am sad because when we are not competitive and we are P11 or P12 it never rains, so we never get lucky. [In Sochi], that we are P3 it rains. Not sad, but definitely we are not very lucky.

“Every point that we got this year is on merit. We never had any gift this year. I am proud of every point that I took this year.”