F1 News: Fernando Alonso Could Have Attacked Max Verstappen As Car Issues Nonexistent

Fernando Alonso had a bumpy start at the Canadian Grand Prix. Beginning from P2 he was swiftly overtaken by Lewis Hamilton who started behind him in P3. He quickly made the position back but was hindered from challenging Max Verstappen - in P1 - thanks to an issue on his Aston Martin. Now, after looking at data from the AMR23, it turns out there wasn't an issue with the car, meaning Alonso could have pushed harder to potentially take his first win of the season.

Looking back on his exhilarating race against his long-time rival, Lewis a, Alonso acknowledged:

"We hoped to challenge Red Bull a bit more," he confessed. "At the start we lost a place to Hamilton. Following that, it was a duel with Mercedes. Lewis pushed all race, so I couldn't catch a break for a single lap. A thrilling battle."

He then commented on the intensity of the race:

Alonso and Hamilton's gripping race held spectators on the edge of their seats as the 7-time champion strived to surpass the Spanish driver. Yet, Hamilton fell short, securing the third position in the Montreal race while Verstappen claimed first place. As the race came to a close, Alonso's engineer hinted that he could have potentially reached Verstappen, had there not been an alleged issue with the car.

"Well done Fernando. We had to navigate a problem, but you did a great job. Without that hiccup, Verstappen would have...," Alonso's engineer expressed before being interrupted by Alonso who stated, "I know, I know! I didn't want to say it. Great job, guys, I'm pleased. We gave it our all."

During the post-race interviews, Alonso made clear that he didn't know the reason behind him having to lift and coast, but now, team principal Mike Krack has admitted that there was no such issue after all.

“We thought we had a problem on the fuel system, but we were not sure,” he admitted. “As a precaution we sent the message to save some fuel and do some lift and coast.

“How much it cost us? It’s difficult to judge. A few tenths, one or two per lap maybe.”

Adding that there was "enough" fuel to see him to the end of the race, he continued:

“It was a precautionary thing but you can chose between not finishing and arriving with a bit more,” he added. “So we wanted to be safe.

“We had a problem on the fuel system. We

thought

we had a problem on the fuel system which did not materialise in the end.”

The Race asked further about why they thought there was an issue:

“Because the data was saying that maybe we had a problem.

Experts initially speculated that the AMR23 had rear brake issues, though this wasn't confirmed. Later, it was revealed that the perceived issue was a misunderstanding and Alonso's car was just fine.

"I don't really know what the problem was. I wasn't told exactly," Alonso said. "But perhaps they didn't want me to worry! The car felt fine, I just followed the instructions.

"Hopefully, that implies we've got more speed in reserve, so we will pile on the pressure on Verstappen in the next race."

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