The Asturian arrived in Canada with a forceful "I am the best" and then managed to get into the points zone before Aston Martin asked him to retire due to physical issues. He managed to get into SQ2, something no one expected, and in the race he took a risk with dry tires on wet asphalt.
Fernando Alonso arrived at the Canadian Grand Prix with a statement that left no one indifferent, the Asturian wanted to definitively settle the eternal debate about his retirement with a forceful: "I am the best, I have nothing to prove" words that generated special attention on him throughout the weekend, with many eyes ready to use them as a weapon if the results did not follow, however, the Aston Martin driver managed to assert himself.
In sprint qualifying, with a vehicle that until recently was not capable of finishing a race, Alonso managed to get into SQ2, something no one expected. It is true that he made use of a soft tire that not everyone used, but the merit was not minor, the problem is that he ended up with the Aston Martin against the wall, fourteenth tying with Esteban Ocon to the thousandth, but six tenths faster than the other Aston Martin. Curiously, there was no mockery about it, perhaps because the simple fact of having entered that SQ2 was already an achievement.
The rest of the weekend was as expected, in the sprint race he could not see the finish line due to a seat problem and in the main qualifying he could not get past nineteenth position, ahead of the Cadillacs and the other Aston Martin, yes, three and a half tenths behind the next group of drivers and four tenths from making the cut, but then came the main race and Alonso was clear, threat of rain, it was time to take a risk, he decided to opt for dry tires on wet asphalt.
He did magic with the AMR26, got into the points zone with a conventional regulation that did not give away overtaking and with a little more performance from the car, it would have been a day to aim for points, one of those days that are remembered for a long time and that the Oviedo native has offered since his days at Minardi, but with the current regulations he could only watch as he lost positions lap after lap until he was relegated.
Expectations after the leap forward in Miami had been moderated, the reality is that the performance was what it was, as Lance Stroll showed by finishing four laps behind the leader.
With no option to continue and with the fear of hurting his back, Aston Martin itself asked Fernando to retire the vehicle: "It seemed we were faster here than in Miami with the same package, we need to wait for the upgrades to arrive during the summer break to see the performance, but we will continue optimizing this package until then" said Alonso with a tone that could even sound like a threat.
