Fernando Alonso was greatly disappointed after becoming the hero of the United States Grand Prix. The comeback from 14th to 7th place was already remarkable in itself, but doing it after a tremendous accident against Lance Stroll (who will be his partner in 2023) adds more epic to the matter.
Four hours after the finish line, and despite the fact that initially the technical reviews had given the status of the Alpine as completely legal, the Spaniard was sanctioned with 30 seconds for going for several laps with the mirror hanging before he was blown up.
That cost him to fall from the points zone, so the titanic effort of driving with the car seriously damaged was useless.
Before knowing how disproportionate the punishment was (George Russell, who attacked Carlos Sainz and made him leave, they only put 5 seconds into it), Alonso ended up sunk. First, physically due to the sovereign beating that this fall entails and then mentally due to the setback that involves being outside the noble zone due to a technical disquisition that, in addition, had initially been overlooked.
This is demonstrated in a message on instagram that he posted with a summary of the weekend’s photos, including one with Brad Pitt, who was in Austin to begin work on the upcoming championship movie. As in the hardest times of his career, Alonso drew on the samurai philosophy that he admires so much.
“A samurai must remain calm at all times even in the face of danger. Thank you Austin, you have been very kind to us,” he wrote. The first photo of the publication, in which he appears sitting with his hands on his knees totally destroyed, is the basis of his reaction.
The next round of the championship is this weekend, in Mexico, where Alonso will seek revenge. The stewards (especially the technicians) will be looked at with a magnifying glass.
