Fernando Alonso is anticipating a “race to forget” at the Austrian Grand Prix after having his qualifying wrecked by Sebastian Vettel.
The Alpine driver was well on course to make Q3 before coming across the Aston Martin approaching Turn 10, with Vettel having been shuffled to the back of the train of cars starting their final laps of Q2.
As a result of being clearly impeded, Alonso will only start 14th for the race on Sunday, well below where he thinks was possible.
“I think we have lost our opportunity to be tomorrow P5 or P6 on the grid, so a different race,” Alonso told Sky Sports in the paddock
“Now I guess we will not score points tomorrow. Whatever penalty they give to the others, it is never enough, so…it’s the way it is.
Seb and Fernando’s view on *that* Q2 incident ?#AustrianGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/4TxdRX29Mk
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 3, 2021
“It was very badly managed by the people in front and I’m disappointed because I think we had the potential. It was probably our best car for qualifying this season and we didn’t maximise it.”
Despite his furious hand gestures towards Vettel, Alonso actually believed his former rival wasn’t really to blame for the incident and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
And in fact, the German was largely caught out by following the instructions of FIA race director Michael Masi.
“We agreed yesterday that we slow down on the straight between [Turns] 8 and 9,” he explained.
“I’m slowing down, everybody jumping the queue and they all slow down between 9 and 10 where we agreed not to slow down. So if I get a penalty we should all get a penalty!
“I don’t think I could have done anything differently – I checked the mirrors out of precaution but it’s blind. I saw Fernando coming last second but I basically cancelled my lap just to get out of the way.
“I am really sorry for him, there is nothing he has done wrong, but don’t think there was much I could have done.”
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Vettel was later handed a three-place grid penalty for the usual indiscretion of impeding another driver, meaning he will start P11.
But Carlos Sainz and Valtteri Bottas, who were investigated for breaching the instruction Masi laid out of driving slowly between the final two corners, were not penalised because the stewards “determined that too many drivers contributed to the situation and therefore the drivers concerned is not fully to blame”.
“I think it’s very confusing,” Alonso said.
“I think it has to be common sense, it has to be harsh penalties because it’s not right what happened today – very, very frustrating to lose a lot of points tomorrow and now we have a race we can forget.
“Starting 14th it’s over, so another weekend with a little bit of a strange situation for us.”