These are the two ‘tricks’ Alonso used in Abu Dhabi to achieve the unthinkable

fernando alonso

He made the unthinkable possible again. He said finishing fourth in the World Championship against the McLarens of Leclerc, Sainz and Norris at the final round in Abu Dhabi was only possible if something unforeseen happened. But in a race that went smoothly, the Spaniard once again pushed the performance of his Aston Martin to the extreme and ended up surprising. Driving a car that shouldn’t have finished seventh in the race, through good strategy and management of the event he finished fourth at the World Championship, something no one expected, not even the Spaniards did not think of.

The Spaniard himself was surprised by finishing seventh. Cars like Perez or Hamilton should come into the race with theoretically better pace. But the man from Oviedo ended his appointment with the same position. There are two key reasons for all this, and Fernando Alonso played a role in both moments. The first has to do with his driving intelligence and reading of the game. The second, his hands. For a team that finished fifth in the Drivers’ World Championship, finishing ninth in the World Championship is the most normal thing. Or at most, considering the Aston Martin was the second-best car to begin with, somewhere on the top. But he ended up finishing fourth.

He’s back to “making magic,” as they say. But all magic has its tricks. Here are two key factors that led to his fourth-place finish.

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Fabio Marchi

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Fabio Marchi

He realized something before anyone else

The first key is a situation of great intelligence and cunning. Alonso realized before anyone else that the tires didn’t last long enough to stop. Everyone wanted to go with a one-stop strategy, but Fernando realized the tires couldn’t be fixed before and reacted first. His decision to enter before everyone else gave him the win. Staying longer on the track could have cost him his position in a tight race in which he once again used worse weapons against “by far the slowest car on the straight” Fight.

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Fabio Marchi

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Fabio Marchi

He won duels with Hamilton and Tsunoda without top speed

Another key is winning the duel. He withstood pressure from Gasly and eventually won the race over Tsunoda and Lewis Hamilton. What happened to the British was appalling. Few drivers were able to regain the position Lewis lost at the start of the second and final round of tires.

After the second stop, Lewis followed him like a rocket, with even hotter wheels. Hamilton passed him, but the man from Oviedo stayed there and later passed him. In a psychological battle between two experienced and talented drivers, Alonso used skill to defeat Lewis. He braked where Hamilton didn’t expect him to, allowing Lewis to pass the DRS line first. Lewis complained. Fernando made him angry. Ultimately, the seven-time champion ran out of options beyond him.

“Hamilton protested at Turn 5 because I braked. I was trying to give him DRS to be able to pass him. We did that in Canada in 2012. 11 years later we were playing the same cat-and-mouse game. He There are many qualities and experiences, but I have more.”” he said with a smile.

Then he went for more. He passed Tsunoda at 6’2 on lap 39 with 19 laps remaining. With 4 laps left, he had passed Tsunoda within 1 second. Finally, he overtook Tsunoda with two laps to go and scored some crucial points to tie Leclerc on points. Fourth place (most podiums), one point ahead of Norris. He fought to the last mile. He didn’t do magic, he used talent and experience. Alonso at his purest.