In its 11th round of the championship, Formula 1 sets up tents in Austria. The weekend domineered by sprint-race format saw the Qualifying session take place on Friday. The team which had a great qualifying was the Alpine.

Both sides of the garage managed a competitive grid position for the sprint race on Saturday. Esteban Ocon out-qualified Fernando Alonso by taking P5 while the Spaniard took P8. However, Alonso has suffered a series of unfortunate events over the weekend.

In the practice sessions, the Spanish driver showed promising signs. In FP1, he finished P8 and FP2 saw him take the P4 on the timing sheets. The Red Bull ring seemed to favor the Alpine car characteristics. Nevertheless, he picked up floor damage in Q1 which made him less competitive for the rest of the Qualifying session.

Coming to the sprint race, misfortune struck for him even before the lights went out. The Alpine car faced a battery issue which saw the former world champion left stranded before the formation lap. This saw him being taken back to the pit lane and dropped to the last position.

Alonso commented on his issues by saying “The engine didn’t start. I ran out of battery or something, everything was off. With an external battery it didn’t work either so it must be something else, again a problem with my car.” (translated using google)

Another competitive weekend that we will leave with 0 points in this side of the garage. This is one of my best years at a competitive level, I feel good, fast and strong, but we haven’t been lucky. We’ve lost 50 or 60 points so far this year,” he added.

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Fernando Alonso’s Austria GP Chances

The two-time world champion could not take part in the second sprint race of the 2022 season. His racing evening ended before it even began. This left him highly disappointed and frustrated with the hard luck he has received this season.

The 40-year-old starts the Sunday Grand Prix in P19, given that Valtteri Bottas receives a grid penalty for a new power unit. The thing to focus on for the rest of the season is the components used on the Alpine of Alonso.

The Spanish driver has used all his allotted engines and battery components in the first half of the season. Notably, he has already introduced a fourth engine in the pool at the Spanish GP. Thus, another perspective grid penalty awaits him for the 2022 season.

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It can be a tough outing for him at the Red Bull ring tomorrow. The race can feature a long DRS train, which would reduce overtaking difficulty. Nevertheless, the Spaniard has a competitive car under him and is the most experienced driver on the grid. We can be in for a Fernando Alonso masterclass at the Austrian track.