In what has been a rather difficult start to the comeback F1 season, Fernando Alonso managed to break into Q3 only for the third time in 6 race weekends. Of course, the Azerbaijan GP qualifying result is a huge relief for the Alpine crew considering the Spaniard’s recent struggles.

However, what’s painful is that Alonso could have finished much higher than P9, which is currently his joint-highest qualifying finish this season since the Bahrain GP.

Hence, the Alpine driver was extremely annoyed with Yuki Tsunoda who hampered his final Q3 run at Baku. Although he sounded displeased with the fact that he could have secured a much better result if not for the untimely crash, there is another factor that apparently nagged Alonso.

What did Fernando Alonso say?

As red lights flashed over the circuit by the end of Q3, Alonso blew up on his team radio, reckoning he had enough pace to secure a position much higher up the grid.

What’s more, Alonso was disappointed that Tsunoda will get to start the race ahead of him despite causing an accident and spoiling his lap.

“Yeah, f*ck me. The car felt good, first two corners. There is a lot of lap time, I guess for everybody, but, yeah it’s a shame we cannot use it,” Alonso said.

“I don’t know why they can repair the car, you know. They make mistakes in quali for free. They still start tomorrow in front of us. Not fair,” he added.

 Can Alonso fight for points at Baku?

Alpine haven’t been the team they were initially feared to be, and Alonso’s struggles have only added to their woes. However, Baku seems like a different story, as the circuit has treated Alonso rather nicely so far, and there’s no denying that the Spaniard is more than capable of holding onto the P9 until the end of the race.

But, the biggest concern for Alonso is the risk factor the circuit carries. Saturday’s qualifying had 5 crashes, and hence, the Spaniard could be looking at a rather eventful race ahead with abundant opportunities, and at the same time, abundant threats.

So, will Alonso manage to keep his nose clean through the race and secure his best finish for Alpine? Furthermore, considering how chaotic a race at Baku could turn out, can Alonso grab onto his first podium of the season? Well, only time will tell.

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