Fernando Alonso achieved in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix his best result since Canada last June, but the Aston Martin driver was especially impressed by the driving standards displayed by all 20 F1 on Baku’s challenging street circuit.
On a track that takes no prisoners, where incidents and safety car deployments are typically commonplace, last Sunday’s race was void of any drama, at least until the penultimate lap when Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez collided and ended their race in the barrier.
Speaking after the race, in which he secured a sixth-place finish, Alonso believed the near incident-free event was a testament to the high level of precision exhibited by his colleagues in difficult circumstances.
“I think the level of risk and precision that you have to apply in a race like today is outstanding, for everybody, all 20 drivers,” commented Alonso.
“With a low level of grip, I think we were driving close to 100% every lap. It was very impressive that there was no safety car or no accident happened in the race.
“It was no different for us, obviously, Monza P11, not really any prize from that race, and here a lot of points, so one compensated the other.”
While initially looking set for an eighth-place finish, Alonso credited his team for being in the right position to capitalize on the late-race drama between Sainz and Perez.
"On a normal weekend, only ninth and 10th is available for the midfield teams," he explained. "Thanks to some action in front of us, sixth was available, and we were there to take it."
Aston Martin's strategy and execution played a key role in Alonso’s ability to secure a strong result.
“We were flexible, one or two stops are still working for us. So we followed more or less the trend, and whatever the people around us were doing, we copied and mirrored the strategy,” he said.
“We were able to maintain the position with Franco, Alex and Nico at one point.
“Tough race, obviously, no time to relax, but in a way, well executed. Good pit stops with the strategy, good tyre degradation.
“So maybe not super pace this weekend, but we still executed the race well enough to score a lot of points.”
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