Fernando Alonso looked quite comfortable over the qualifying session in Baku and ultimately reflected it in the results as well, lining up in a decent P8 for the race. However, the Spaniard wasn’t entirely happy with the results, as he felt the Alpine had a lot more to offer.

But, was Alonso even to blame for the unsatisfactory outing on Saturday at Baku?

Well, no. The streets of Baku yet again delivered a chaotic session maintaining its history, with qualifying alone witnessing four red flags, which played spoilsports in the Spaniard’s prospects.

Hence, Alonso blamed the other drivers for hampering his chances of securing a much better grid position. He reckoned that drivers like Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll, and others were pushing their cars over the limit, which ultimately forced them into collisions.

What did Fernando Alonso say?

As reported by PlanetF1, the Spaniard advised the drivers to “calm down” and not push hard for a perfect lap on a street circuit.

“I think people need to calm down a little bit and drive at 98% in a street circuit because if you crash and start last in the race, maybe you don’t drive over your possibilities. I think today, we had so many people driving over the possibilities of their car or their abilities,” he said.

Alonso‘s final Q3 run looked quite decent compared to others around him. And there is no denying that he could have found himself in the top seven.

However, just a minute away from the checkered flag, red flags engulfed the circuit, as cameras noticed an AlphaTauri stranded into the barriers at turn 3. Considering the lack of time on the clock, the stewards called off the session.

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Alonso acknowledges “messy” Baku qualifying

The Spaniard sounded distraught with the untimely red flags that spoiled his chances of clinging onto a decent grid position.

“It was messy. It was difficult to get into the rhythm or into the pace, but it was the same for everybody. I think we didn’t use all of the potential of the car because any time we put on a new set of tyres, we didn’t use it,” he said.

“It was the same for everyone. It was a little bit unfair probably, but for the people that crashed, they repair that car and then they start in that position tomorrow.”

All is not over yet, with the main event yet to take place on the streets of Baku. With much stronger winds predicted during the race, the possibilities of crashes are significantly high.

So, can Alonso use his experience to bring his Alpine home in one piece out of a potentially difficult race? Only time will tell.

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