Alonso predicts "a lot of fun" with Hamilton recovery

Sam Hall
Sunday 11 September 2022 11:04

Fernando Alonso has no doubt Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez will provide plenty of entertainment for fans at the Italian Grand Prix with their recovery drives.

Hamilton and Sainz both received back-of-the-grid penalties for fitting fresh power units and will start 19th and 18th respectively, while Perez dropped 10 places for using his fourth engine of the season and lines up 13th.

Despite overtaking believed to be at a premium on Sunday, Alonso said: “I think Carlos, Checo and Lewis will make a lot of moves, so you will watch and have fun.”

The midfield runners have been extremely close on pace this season, with the margins appearing to shrink further at Monza.

Given that DRS has proven to be less powerful with the current specification of machinery, concerns have grown there could be a lack of action on Sunday.

Asked about this, Alonso added: “Let’s see.

"It should be possible to follow closer but the DRS effect is also less. And the cars are so close together. Within four-tenths, we have 10 or 11 cars.

“So, when you have a similar pace to the car in front it is very difficult to pass.

"You need to create that delta with a different tyre or something.”

Despite concerns, the Alpine driver does not believe that partial resurfacing work of only the racing line will add to the difficulty.

“We tend not to wait for the very last moment to make the move so all the overtakes now, thanks to DRS, are made in the middle of the straights," he said. "So this should not be a problem.”