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Fernando Alonso secured a second-place finish behind Max Verstappen at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix.
Dutch Grand Prix
Venue: Zandvoort Dates: 29-31 August Race start: 14:00 BST on Sunday
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra; live text updates on BBC Sport website and app
Despite a strong showing in Friday practice at the Dutch Grand Prix, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso tempered expectations of challenging McLaren for a front-row start. He finished between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the practice sessions.
Alonso’s fastest lap was a mere 0.087 seconds behind Norris, who topped both sessions at Zandvoort.
However, the two-time world champion dismissed the suggestion of a qualifying battle with the McLarens on Saturday.
“I don’t think it’s within our reach to fight with the McLarens,” Alonso stated. “But maybe some of the top teams, Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, they seem not too far away. So we will try to be in that mix.”
Norris acknowledged Aston Martin’s pace, noting their competitiveness at the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break, where Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll qualified fifth and sixth, respectively, with Alonso finishing fifth in the race.
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Norris commented: “The Astons are never that far off in P2. They quite often and consistently are quite decent in P2. They have been getting better. Even in Budapest they were pretty quick as well. It’s not a big surprise. At the minute they look like the quickest but Max (Verstappen) is not far off.”
Aston Martin demonstrated strong performance in both sessions, with Alonso recording the fourth-fastest time in the first session, followed by teammate Lance Stroll. However, Stroll’s second session was cut short by a significant crash at the banked Hugenholtz hairpin due to a locked left front brake.
After a challenging start to the season, Aston Martin has climbed to sixth place in the constructors’ championship, aided by recent car upgrades.
Alonso expressed optimism, stating, “I do (feel optimistic). For sure a little bit more optimistic than some of the other Fridays we did.”
“Hungary was strong for us and now we go into the following race and we are still showing some good pace on free practice. It is only free practice but it is good to see our times up there.”
Norris entered the weekend trailing Piastri by nine points, with Piastri only 0.002 seconds slower than Alonso in the second session, compared to being 0.292 seconds behind Norris in the first.
Both McLaren drivers reported a “good day” in preparing their cars, anticipating potential rain disruptions on Saturday.
Norris appeared to have an advantage over Piastri throughout the day, exhibiting faster lap times and race simulation runs.
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Dutch Grand Prix Preview
Mercedes’ George Russell secured fourth place, followed by Verstappen’s Red Bull and Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari, with Hamilton trailing by 0.848 seconds.
The seven-time champion experienced two spins during the day, both without significant contact.
The first spin occurred in the first session while entering Hugenholtz, and the second occurred when he ran wide at Turn Nine, briefly touching the grass.
Despite these incidents, Hamilton concluded the day 0.096 seconds and two positions ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, a positive start to the final part of the season after a challenging end to the first for the Briton.
Hamilton commented, “Not been the worst of days. We were making progress. We were quite far off in P1, a lot further than normal. We progressed but still quite a chunk off so we have some work to do overnight.”
“Pace-wise we are where we are. I don’t know how we’re going to find 0.8secs but we will try our best.”
Regarding his spins, he explained: “First one was just pushing too much. Also ride quality is not where we’d want it, so the car is quite unpredictable. The second one I touched the grass and had a snap.”
Leclerc described the day as “a very, very, very, very difficult Friday, probably the worst of the season,” attributing their struggles to losing significant time in two specific corners, identified as the challenging right-handers of Turns Eight and Nine.
Leclerc suggested it would take a “miracle” to rectify the situation.
Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda finished seventh, while Alex Albon also crashed in the second session, going straight on at the first corner, Tarzan, and damaging his front wing against the barriers.
Verstappen himself had a minor incident after the first session, misjudging his braking into the Tarzan hairpin after a practice start.
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli crashed in the first session at Turn Nine and concluded the second session in 12th place.
Behind Leclerc in eighth, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto secured ninth fastest, followed by Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg rounding out the top 10 from British Haas driver Oliver Bearman.
In the official news conference between sessions, Alpine’s de facto boss Flavio Briatore cast doubt on Colapinto’s future at the team.
The Argentine was signed as reserve driver from Williams over the winter and replaced Australian Jack Doohan in the French team from the sixth race of the season but has failed to impress.
Asked what he needed to see from Colapinto for him to retain his seat, Briatore said: “I see everything already. I don’t need to see anything any more.
“It’s difficult. For this driver, it’s very difficult to cope with this car. These cars are very, very heavy, very quick. And for a young driver to put in Formula 1, maybe it was not the timing to have Franco in Formula 1. Maybe he needs another year or two to be part of Formula 1.
“And I know that, in the end, what is important is the result. He tries very hard. He tries very hard with the engineers to please them in everything, but it’s not what I expect from Colapinto.”
Lance Stroll climbs out of his damaged Aston Martin after crashing at Turn Three
Stroll’s crash was the first of two red flags in the second practice session
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