In a thrilling showcase of skill and determination, Fernando Alonso of the Aston Martin Formula 1 team secured a remarkable second-place finish in the rain-packed Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Aston Martin’s team principal, Mike Krack, lauded the way Alonso handles challenging conditions, labeling him the “master of the situation.”
Photo credit: Aston Martin F1 Team
Alonso, starting from fifth on the grid showcased his supreme skill and feel to move into 2nd initially, but faced a turbulent lap on dries as he opted for intermediate tyres on the second lap, dropping him positions. Despite this setback, he demonstrated remarkable progress, climbing to third. Unfortunately, a wheelgun malfunction during his lap 48 pit stop cost him around six precious seconds.
However, Alonso’s resilience shone through as he successfully reclaimed his position from Carlos Sainz and proceeded to set the fastest lap, closing in on Sergio Perez. The race took a dramatic turn during a late-race storm with Pérez going off, enabling Alonso to secure the second spot on the podium, narrowly missing out on the top spot.
Following a red flag interruption, Alonso had a fleeting chance at victory, but Max Verstappen’s calm control secured him the lead, leaving Alonso trailing by 3.7 seconds. Notably, this marked the first podium for both Alonso and the team since his second-place finish in Canada earlier in the season. After a string of less successful events, Alonso’s podium finish was a welcome triumph.
In the midst of the celebrations, Alonso’s optimism was evident as he conveyed to his team, “We will win one race soon, we are getting closer.”
Photo credit: Aston Martin F1 Team
Mike Krack, Aston Martin’s team principal, praised Alonso’s performance, emphasizing his control and adaptability throughout the race. “The good thing was that he was in control all the time, and he was always the master of the situation I would say, and this was key obviously also in such conditions to never go off,” Krack highlighted.
“There were some situations where it was really about surviving which he managed, and then at the end if the opportunity would have been there [to pass Verstappen], he would have tried. You saw also in great style how fast he was in the first four or five races, to come back [after the stop delay] and pass the two cars, it was just incredible,” he added.
“And then the rain at the end staying out also, because the rain was so torrential we were quite sure that there would be an incident, but you hope obviously it’s not you creating that incident!
“Ending the drought since the last top-three finish is a good feeling,” the team principal acknowledged, highlighting the significance of the recent achievement.
“After all these podiums in the first half of the season, and then more difficult races, now finally in a very difficult weekend we managed to get another podium, which is great,” he added, emphasising the team’s resilience.
“Great team effort from everybody, to be honest.”
Photo credit: Aston Martin F1 Team
“All July the lights were never off in the campus,” Krack noted, a testament to the relentless commitment driving their progress. “We brought new parts here, we’ll bring new parts again to the next races. So we really want to try and keep fighting as much as we can in this battle, and see where we end up at the end.”
On the impact of the new floor package introduced at Zandvoort, Krack said: “You try to bring parts to the car, but obviously with the difficult conditions that we had here and the changing conditions the data analysis is also not an easy one.
“But everything points in the right direction. I think we made a small step in Spa, I think we made another one here, but we also need to confirm them over the next races.”
When asked about Monza, which is the upcoming race this weekend: “We have to see. We worked quite hard now over the last weeks on our package in order to improve the straight line, to improve the DRS, so it would be a nice test to see,” he concluded.
