Fernando Alonso had doubts as to whether his Aston Martin would be competitive on the Jeddah circuit. The Saudi Arabian track offered characteristics diametrically opposed to those of the Bahrain Grand Prix and the green car showed that it also It goes on rails in fast cornering conditions and endless straights. Second sandwiched between the Red Bull. Nothing bad.
The Asturian exhibited in the second free practice session –under the same conditions as Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s race– that he is going to be a legitimate contender for the podium this weekend. Fernando Alonso was competitive as much at one lap as in the so-called race simulations, finishing in second position in the session just 208 thousandths behind Max Verstappen.
The two-time world champion was only surpassed by a Dutchman who again proved to be in another galaxy. The energy team he lowered the times at will and everything indicates that they are the great favorites to repeat the double from 10 days ago in the opening test of the season.
Ferrari was lost on a circuit where its powerful engine should make the difference. It is possible that the Italian team was working conservatively in this session on Friday due to the unreliability of the car. Both Sainz, tenth, and Leclerc, ninth, will have to improve their performance a lot ahead of Saturday.
The surprise of the day was given by an Alpine that finished in fourth position with a Esteban Ocon who forgot his last position in the Bahrain race. Despite being an outstanding performance from the French team, Fernando Alonso can be more than satisfied with his decision to embark on the Aston Martin adventure.
The Spaniard, despite being far from Red Bull, sYou know that you can become a fixture on the podium this season in Formula 1 if the rest does not evolve excessively. Ferrari is afraid of breaking the engine, while Mercedes is not and is not expected.
