Fernando Alonso to start at the back of the grid after taking a new engine at 2022 F1 Spanish GP
Fernando Alonso qualified in P17 at Saturday's qualifying session, however, he will be starting the 2022 F1 Spanish GP at the back of the grid. As reported by Josep Lluís MERLOS on his social media, the Alpine driver will be taking on a new engine for the race and as a consequence, will be starting at the back of the grid.
The tweet from Lluís MERLOS read:
“Fernando Alonso will start tomorrow last on the grid of @Circuitcat_cat. At Alpine, they have decided to change the engine. He will go for a 3-stop strategy, probably going out on softs and pending what a hypothetical Safety Car can bring him. Spectacle assured!”
Fernando Alonso saldra mañana ultimo en la parrilla del @Circuitcat_cat
En Alpine han decidido cambiar el motor. Ira a una estrategia a 3 paradas, saliendo probablemente con blandos y pendiente de lo que pueda aportarle un hipotetico Safety Car. Espectaculo asegurado! https://t.co/RDlA9LbR16
The Spaniard had a disastrous qualifying session on Saturday where he was eliminated in Q1. His two fresh sets of medium and soft tires respectively will help him make the most of his home race.
Tyres available for the #SpanishGP
• Charles Leclerc with a fresh set of soft tyres
• two-stop race (the hard tyre seems to be too slow)
#F1 https://t.co/itybtjpOFq
The race is expected to see a two-stop strategy, which could mean that the 40-year-old could start on a set of mediums and do a long stint on them. Then, depending on race circumstances, he could either opt for another pit stop, or go for a more aggressive pit strategy and opt for a three-stop race.
Either way, Fernando Alonso is definitely a driver worth keeping an eye out for during the Spanish GP.
Fernando Alonso has had a slew of misfortune this season
Fernando Alonso has been one of the most unlucky drivers of the 2022 F1 season. The driver faced reliability issues in Saudi Arabia that caused a DNF and then again in Australia where it destroyed his qualifying. He also had bad luck in Imola, where a small tap from Mick Schumacher wrecked his sidepod and ended his race.
On Saturday, Fernando Alonso admitted a slight misunderstanding had led to his Q1 elimination. In a post-qualifying interaction, he said the following:
“It was a difficult qualifying session for me today and we had a bit of a misunderstanding on my final lap of Q1. I thought we had a one or two second margin to get across the line, but we actually had a twenty second margin in the end. It’s a high price to pay here because as we know it’s very difficult to overtake on this track.”
The Spaniard will be hoping to make a comeback in his home race and try to score a point or two for Alpine.