After signing an outstanding and undoubtedly very hopeful preseason, Fernando Alonso continued to surprise after the first day of action of the Bahrain Grand Prix, which opens the 2023 season. The Spaniard was second in the morning session, between the two Red Bulls , using the same compound as Sergio Pérez and Max Verstappen. And in the afternoon session, at night and in conditions similar to those expected for this Saturday’s classification, -the true test of cotton-, Alonso once again gave the bell and in his first lap launched with the new soft tire he managed to climb to the first position, dropping to 1:30.907 to finish as the fastest on Friday.
With a great rhythm and with hardly any degradation, Fernando left Verstappen behind with the same rubber, replicating the partials of the RB19, while the expectations of his followers went ‘in crescendo’. In the end, Max’s race pace was somewhat higher in the comparison with the Aston Martin, but Alonso triggered the illusion.
Undoubtedly we have to wait, perhaps lower the euphoria, but in the absence of definitive confirmation in qualifying this afternoon (4:00 p.m.), it seems that the two-time Spanish champion has reasons to start dreaming, for the first time in many years. Alonso insists on lowering the expectations generated around him. “We have taken another step, we are going in the right direction. The car feels good. But we must keep our feet on the ground. The goal is to fight for the championship, but in the long term, I don’t think that can happen this year yet.” Although the references in free practice are never definitive, the times of the first day also seem to indicate that Mercedes is behind the performance of Ferrari, with 2 tenths of a second between Leclerc and Hamilton. The Monegasque finished fourth, 4 tenths behind Alonso’s time and well ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz (14th), who did not have the expected debut with the new Ferrari SF-23. Nothing that the man from Madrid cannot solve today.
