Alonso: “I hope this weekend was an exceptional case”

In the space of a week on French soil, Fernando Alonso will have passed from the glory of his victory to 24 Hours of Le Mans to an almost anonymous retirement at the French Grand Prix F1 on the Paul Ricard circuit.

A diametrically opposite ending for the pilot McLaren, whose weekend did not start well as evidenced by his 16th place in qualifying before a complicated start to the race from the first meters.

“I started this race on the back foot, losing positions at the start because I avoided a lot of accidents around me. Too many cars in front of me took a shortcut. » The old pilot Renault then went into a spin after a duel with the Ferrari de Sebastian Vettel.

It was then the mechanical problems which slowed down the progress of the double world champion in the Var. “I was still last after the Safety Car period, and I had a problem with the brakes overheating, then I used only one set of tires while I was in traffic for most of the race. Then, at the end, I had to retire with a suspension problem. »

Alonso now hopes to bounce back from Austria on the Red Bull Ring this weekend, where he was also forced to retire last year. “We will have another opportunity to forget the ordeal (from Paul Ricard) and improve ourselves. I really hope this weekend was an exceptional case and that we will show better form at Spielberg and, in particular, at Silverstone.

I know there are new things to come over the next few months, and I am still very optimistic despite the fact that we were not competitive in France. »

Discover the full report and analysis of the French Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents at Paul Ricard, in issue 2171 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version and from tomorrow on newsstands.