Alonso and Johnson swapped cars in Bahrain

Fernando Alonso and Jimmie Johnson completed several laps of the Sakhir track in Bahrain, the first in a Chevrolet Nascar, the second in the 4 McLaren MP28-2013.

Published on 27/11/2018 à 08:42

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Teased for several days then confirmed some time before the final of the 2018 World Championship season F1, contested last weekend in Abu Dhabi, the exchange of seats between Fernando Alonso and Jimmie Johnson took place yesterday at the Bahrain circuit.

After having completed a few installation runs behind the wheel of the McLaren MP4-28 – Mercedes, the double F1 world champion left the seven-time winner of the Nascar Cup Series slide into the seat of the car sporting the 2018 McLaren livery.

28 laps later, the Hendrick Motorsports driver made no secret of enjoying his experience. “The braking point is so late in F1,” Johnson commented on his Twitter account. It's crazy. G forces when you brake hard cause your eye to lose focus and your vision to become blurry. Unreal feeling. »

The braking point is so late in @F1, it's insane. The G Forces from hitting the brakes so hard actually make your eyes lose focus and vision go blurry Unreal feeling #JJxALO

Sound on @McLarenF1 @alo_oficial @teamhendrick pic.twitter.com/PT5JRbvAZl

— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) November 26, 2018

« I think he was really saving time with each pass, admits Alonso, quoted by ESPN, on the American's performance. Sometimes you put new tires on these cars for the first time and you can't get the limit of the grip because you miss the braking point a little here and there, or maybe you're not maximizing the available grip.

But he was able to guess the extra grip that new tires give you and convert that into time on the track. I was very impressed by this. »

Alonso already projected for 2020?

The Spanish driver also indicated that a return to single-seaters could not be completely ruled out from 2020. “In 2019...I want to fight for the Triple Crown, the Indy 500 and other iconic races. Maybe Daytona (As we have been announcing for several days, Fernando Alonso should compete in the event in 2019 with Wayne Taylor Racing), and other things will happen.

But yes, for 2020, I may feel the need to do a complete program. Maybe full time IndyCar, maybe in Formula 1, I don't know. Maybe it'll be time to come back, or maybe I'll enjoy next year so much that I won't come back. »