After concluding the F1 Las Vegas GP as P13, Fernando Alonso expressed his grievances about the track surface. As both McLaren drivers were disqualified post-race for excessive skid block wear, Alonso has been bumped up to P11.
The Aston Martin driver spoke about the challenges of driving on the Strip, stating:
“The race circuit is fun, because it’s high speed, but I think the type of asphalt is not Formula 1 standard. To be honest, it’s too slippery and we cannot put the tyres in temperature and there is no grip. It’s extremely bumpy, at the limit of being safe to race.”
He continued on to mention that the FIA should address the problems before future races.
“So I think for the future we need to talk with the FIA if this is acceptable or not for the following years. And then the place in the calendar, if I’m totally honest, is difficult for us.”
Alonso: “I don’t think any other sport in the world will accept that”
With a 24-race calendar, having Las Vegas kick off the final triple header of the season is not something Alonso is satisfied with. Not only is Vegas a night race, it also takes place before the demanding circuits of Qatar and Abu Dhabi. While the Las Vegas GP struggles with the cold temperatures, Qatar provides the opposite issue for the drivers.
In addition to the temperature differences, the two-time World Champion sees the time differences of the races as another problem.
“To come here with the time difference and how far it is from Europe and Brazil two weeks ago and we go to Qatar now straight and it’s a 17-hour plane and 13 hours’ time difference. I don’t think any other sport in the world will accept that. So, I mean, circuit okay, asphalt and moment in the calendar, for me it’s not, yeah, borderline,” he stated.
When asked if moving the Las Vegas GP to a different place in the calendar could be a solution, the Spaniard responded:
“Yeah, yeah, maybe. I mean, I think I heard that we do it now because it’s the quiet weekend of the year for Vegas, but we cannot do things like that. If not, we will go to Monaco in February, because it’s quiet, you know, but there are certain things that we need to think about the sport first.”
A challenging weekend
Furthermore, the former champion spoke about the tough weekend in the TV pen after the race.
“It has been a challenging weekend, and no surprise, the race was also a challenge. We didn’t have the pace to be in the points and needed the top speed. We were slow on the straights so it was difficult to battle out there. But yeah, we tried. Qualifying well yesterday, not the pace today, we’ll try again next week.”
The Spaniard driver qualified seventh while his teammate was out in Q2 with a P12. The Aston Martin’s did not have the pace during the race as Alonso originally finished P13, while Lance Stroll suffered a retirement.
When told he had some great overtakes, Alonso seemed surprised, stating:
“Really? I think I did one only. I hope you enjoyed because I did one, and apparently it was on TV, so yeah lucky for me.”
“Honestly, it was a long race. We didn’t have the pace and nothing really happened around us so it was a little bit lonely for most of the stints. I don’t know on TV, but inside the cockpit it was not the best race for us,” he concluded.
