Fernando Alonso knew his first abandonment this 2023 season with Aston Martin. He suffered it in the short race, the Sprint Race, of the Belgian GP, when the third lap was running. The Asturian, who was running far behind, in 16th position, had a spin on the wet asphalt and went to the gravel, from which he could not get out.
The circumstance occurs that the first abandonment of Alonso arrives precisely on the day of his anniversary: today he turns 42 years old.
The incident, the first he has suffered with Aston Martin (all the previous 11 long races and the 2 short ones, he had finished), forced the neutralization of the race with the safety car.
The Asturian was disappointed by the abandonment, although he was already thinking of leaving it behind and focusing on this Sunday's race (3:00 p.m.), in which he will start 9th on the grid.
"I was following Nico [Hülkenberg] very closely at the entrance to Pouhon, I lost downforce, hit the white line and just lost the car. Trying to find grip, with levels so low at every corner, was risky. It was very slippery and I made a mistake", admitted Alonso explaining how his abandonment happened in statements to his team.
For the race, the Spanish driver hoped to return to the points after two very discreet races (9th in Hungary and 7th in Silverstone), and abandoning the Sprint. "I hope it will be a race in which hopefully we will be able to turn the page on a Saturday in which the two cars did not achieve any points (Stroll was 11th) and we can add with both," Fernando Alonso commented to the Dazn TV microphone.
Until then, Oscar Piastri (McLaren) led the short race ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull), as the Australian overtook the leader by stopping first to put on the intermediate tires. But the Dutchman, who stopped one lap later, overtook the rookie on the sixth lap of the 11 scheduled.
The two-time champion took victory without any setback or threat, the second he has achieved in a short race this year (the previous one, in Austria). They are 8 points more than he accumulates over the two immediate pursuers of him, Checo Pérez and Fernando Alonso, who left at the same time in the Spa Sprint.
