Fernando Alonso ready to be "super lucky" as heavy rain strikes Imola

Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Alonso ready to be "super lucky" as heavy rain strikes Imola

Spaniard hoping to capitalise on wet weather mistakes

Ian Parkes & Will Gray

Sunday 24 April 2022 14:00

Fernando Alonso feels it is his time to “be super lucky” and capitalise on first-lap incidents given the wet weather for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Alonso, who qualified fifth on Friday before slipping back to ninth in the sprint after suffering a slow get-away at the start, believes he can only claw back places if he can capitalise on the misfortune of others.

He said: “The start was bad. [There was] a lot of wheelspin, so something happened there. I asked on the radio on the in-lap if there was something wrong from my side on the procedure and they said no, so it is still a bit of a mystery.

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"After that, we didn’t have the pace, we were too slow. Also, we had a lot of tyre degradation so maybe the red tyre was a little bit optimistic for our car.

“I think P6 or P7 could be our realistic position [in the race]. Obviously, we need some luck, some things to happen in front of us. Again [in the sprint] everyone touched each other in the first corner and nothing happened.

“One day something will happen and we will benefit, I am sure of that, because they have been benefitting in front of us a lot, so let’s see."

Alonso backs sprint despite deflating day

Spaniard Alonso noted he “lost every battle” he had in the sprint, further declaring the Ferrari to be so fast there was little he could do when battling for position with compatriot Carlos Sainz.

Asked if he enjoyed the sprint, he added: “I do enjoy it. We had some action with the qualifying, and again [with the sprint]. Free practice is definitely more boring than racing

“I think the fans enjoyed it. If I was at home and I put on the TV and I saw something better than the free practice that’s a positive thing."

Referring to the rain, Alonso said: "Obviously you can be super lucky or super unlucky and I feel that I will be super lucky.”