Fernando Alonso rises to the podium of Losail

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In 25 laps to the limit, under the latent threat of a blowout,

secured a podium that tastes of glory in Losail. Stretching the life of his hard tire under pressure from

, the Spaniard reached the goal only behind

and a

who never found a way to discuss the hegemony of the Mercedes leader. In this exciting definition of the World Cup, with just six points of margin, the battle for the title finds in Alonso a luxury entertainer. Seven years later, since that distant 2014 Hungarian GP, ​​the two-time champion has once again bathed in champagne.

It is well worth forgetting so many past troubles, because in the end it all went smoothly for Fernando, chosen as the best driver on Sunday by the fans. The double penalty to Verstappen and

, known shortly before the start, had propelled him to third place on the grid, from where Alpine drew up a strategy that was as conservative as it was effective. Although the speed of the A521 could hardly oppose that of the Mercedes and Red Bull squires, Alonso responded with the best of his repertoire, rolling at a brutal pace in his first relay and holding it, on the dangerous curbs of Losail.

He also had that enemy fortune so many times, which appeared in the form of the last

when Pérez launched his last attack.

With two laps to go, that

accident

with the Williams was the last oxygen cylinder.

All the recognition also for its mechanics, impeccable in the only passage through the pits, back on lap 22. On an unprecedented track, where everyone started with almost a blindfold, Alonso showed his mastery.

At 39 years old, he is still in the highest elite of piloting.

Bad exit from Sainz

From the start, from the clean zone, he had attacked mercilessly in the second corner, with a double maneuver with which he made Verstappen bite the dust and marked a spectacular exterior in front of

. By contrast,

could not shake off the bad vibes of his last outings and returned to stay nailed in the studs, giving up two places to

and Verstappen. Every Sunday in Madrid, crammed into the traffic of the middle zone, passed between the anodyne. At least seventh place at the finish, just ahead of

, allows Ferrari to extend the lead over McLaren.

Hamilton, needless to say, led unopposed, as if waiting for news of what was coming from behind. The difficulties in overtaking were soon confirmed, with only one specific point: the end of the finish line. Right there Verstappen got rid of Gasly, who carpeted his path, and Alonso, also aware of the limitations of his Alpine. In any case, no matter how hard he pushed, Red Bull couldn't keep up with Mercedes.

Without squeezing the tires, Hamilton's lead had grown to seven seconds when Verstappen entered the garage to fit the hard tires.

Not to be outdone, the Silver Arrows traced the strategy just a minute later.

, his top strategist, already knew with all the aces up his sleeve, so he decided to turn to

, who had given up five positions in the first round.

"If you pass those cars you are going to fight for third place," he advanced to the Finn.

Bottas Prick

From Alpine, naturally, their progression was observed with suspicion. Also that of

, spurred on by difficulties and terribly accurate. Before going through the pits, on the fifteenth lap, he was able to shake off Ocon, Sainz and

at the end of the straight

. Little or nothing could Alonso oppose against the speed of Red Bull. Just pushing the useful life of his soft tires to the limit, with which he signed fabulous times until lap 22.

With the hard tire, the battle against Pérez would soon be resolved in favor of Checo. After halfway through the race, there were still legitimate doubts about what to do to reach the podium. Some were cleared up by the puncture of Bottas, the victim of razor-sharp shoulders. One less rival in contention for Alpine, who had to make a critical decision with Alonso. Or rather confirm it.

As they had devised from the beginning, the Asturian's podium had to be sustained with a single stop, stretching his hard footwear to the limit. Meanwhile, Red Bull was betting on the inverse strategy, renewing Pére's tire, who has since made a comeback against

, Ocon and Norris. "Tell Esteban to hold out like a lion," Alonso launched on the radio, aware that the rhythm of the RB16B would grow exponentially.

The Frenchman, thanked for the courtesy of Fernando at the Hungarian GP, ​​did everything in his power, with a tremendous melee against Checo on lap 46. McLaren, also fearful of degradation, removed from the middle to Norris, so from there to the finish everything would be in the hands of Fernando.

Even under these extreme conditions, he achieved unusual consistency, and the aforementioned Latifi accident paved the way further.

The 98th podium of his career was the well-deserved payment for a superb race.

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Know more

• sports

• Formula 1

• Lewis hamilton

• Max verstappen

• Mercedes gp

• Valtteri Bottas

• Sergio perez

• Red bull racing

• Carlos Sainz Jr

• Fernando Alonso

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