Alonso: A race destroyed on the first lap in India

Fernando Alonso had tried an interesting strategy by choosing to start with medium tires from 8th position on the Indian GP grid. But the pilot Ferrari saw his race destroyed by damaging his front wing following contact with the Red Bull by Mark Webber, forcing him to change his plans for the race by switching to a three-stop strategy. The double world champion was then blocked by traffic and finally finished just outside the points. “That first lap compromised the whole race because we immediately had to change the front wing and make one more stop, with no chance of overtaking. Webber hit someone and then me and I also hit Button in turn 4. The steering became very harsh on right turns and the only thing to do was to stop. Our strategy seemed good given the races of Webber and Pérez (who were on an identical strategy) because they were in the lead when the others stopped. »

The Scuderia driver had to at least finish in the first two to prevent Sebastian Vettel to win his 4th world title. But the Asturian was mainly aiming for a good result for the Manufacturers’ Championship. Gold, Mercedes took 2nd place with 4 points ahead of the Prancing Horse, Felipe Massa having limited the damage by taking the points from 4th position. “I have to congratulate Vettel because, like in all sports, the best wins. I'm sad not to have scored any points for the Constructors' Championship, but we will have to do better in the next three races by constantly aiming for the podium. »

Discover the analysis of the Indian Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 1933 of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.