As well as being a two-time Formula 1 World Champion, it appears that Fernando Alonso is also the king of multi-tasking, with the Spaniard having made the most of his time during Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.
As has been the theme of the 2023 F1 season so far, Sunday’s race at the Miami International Autodrome was far from a classic, with overtaking having once again been an enormous challenge.
It resulted in Alonso having a “bit of a lonely race”, with the Spaniard having remained towards the front of the field for the entirety of the Grand Prix.
Starting from second alongside Sergio Perez, Alonso made a good launch off the line; however, he was unable to challenge the Mexican into the opening corner.
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He therefore remained in P2 for the opening phase of the race, before Max Verstappen made his way past the Aston Martin driver after recovering from ninth on the grid.
Alonso didn’t bother defending against the superior Dutchman, who went on to win his third race of the year.
The 41-year-old’s opening stint of the race on the Medium compound was extended much further than those around him, due to Carlos Sainz having attempted an undercut.
However, Sainz became less of a threat after he was awarded a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pitlane, whilst the Ferrari driver’s pace also wasn’t good enough ultimately to challenge Alonso.
It meant that when Alonso did eventually make his one and only pit-stop, he was effectively all alone after overtaking Sainz with ease, allowing him to cruise to the finish to claim his fourth podium of the season.
To highlight how uneventful the race was for the veteran, he spent some of the race watching the giant TVs around the track, where he was able to watch team-mate Lance Stroll pull-off a great overtake into the opening corner for P13.
Alonso was quick to congratulate the Canadian for his overtake over the team radio, something fans found hilarious given that he was clearly paying attention to absolutely everything going on.
“Which position is Lance?” Alonso asked the team.
“Great move into Turn 1,” he stated.
Alonso’s fourth podium from the opening five races ensured that he kept third in the Drivers’ Championship, with him now sitting 19 points ahead of fourth-placed Lewis Hamilton.
The Spaniard was pleased with his podium but did admit that the Silverstone-based team now “want more”, giving off the impression that they’re already tired of finishing third so often.
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“The car is amazing and it was a bit of a lonely race today,” Alonso said in his post-race interview.
“It’s never easy, but it was a lonely race.
“Everything was fine, we take the podium, and going into Imola, Monaco and Barcelona we hope to keep going. At the beginning of the year a podium was amazing, but now we want more.”