Formula 1: Fernando Alonso is looking for “the 33” in his land, the number everyone is talking about on the eve of the Spanish GP

Fernando Alonso filled the Spaniard with joy in 2005 and 2006 when he was crowned twice champion of the Formula 1. More than three decades later, just after 42 years (he will meet them on July 29), the Aston Martin driver feeds the illusion from third place in the championship, after third places in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Miami and the recent second place in Monaco, in the preview of the Gran Prize Prize of Spain, which talks about the possibility of realizing it the 33rd win of his career in the year he had already achieved a record 100 podium finishes.

In Barcelona – where he reached the podium six times – the Spaniard won twice: once in 2006, the year in which he reconfirmed the title; and the other in 2013: what is currently his last victory to date and which turned ten on 12 May.

With a car with guarantees and a serious structure with room for growth around him, Alonso, who optimizes resources better than anyone else, knows that a new victory is on the horizon. And the Circuit de Catalunya – whose layout has changed course, returning to the previous one, eliminating the chicane in the last section and transforming it into a long and fast right-hander – could be a favorable scenario. In front of an ecstatic audience who will also support Sainz, whose entertainment grandstands -seating around 3,000- took just eight minutes to sell out since tickets went on sale.

However, the main obstacle that Alonso finds for ‘la’ 33 is ‘el’ 33: the historic number that accompanied Verstappen in the car until he was champion for the first time.

“So far we’ve had a lot of third places; and then a second place in Monaco; e the next step we have to take is the one that leads to the top step of the podium. But I’m not obsessed,” commented Alonso before traveling to Barcelona and after taking his 103rd podium finish in the premier class.

Already in Montmeló, this Thursday he added: “I feel good, happy, logically, to have good results; fight for the podium, celebrate again with champagne; and get the reward. But in the end it depends on the car you have; and this Enjoy the benefits this machine has this year.”

Verstappen, who sealed his fourth victory of the year last Sunday, leads with 144 points, 39 more than Checo Pérez, who finished last in Monaco and could only advance to sixteenth place. And with 51 on the man who threatens to revive the second part of the ‘alonsomania’: phenomenon from the beginning of the century directly related to the emotion aroused by the feats (until then unimaginable for the Spanish public) performed by the brilliant Asturian pilot.

Can Red Bull win all the races of the year?: Verstappen’s reflection

Red Bull looks unstoppable after winning the Constructors’ Championship last year, dethroning Mercedes, king of the hybrid era, and Max Verstappen is the main enforcer. The two-time Dutch champion also scored his 39th F1 win on Sunday, an all-time record for the Austrian team.

When asked if Red Bull could win the remaining 16 races, the current World Cup leader was adamant: “Right now it looks like it might”. “But it’s unlikely, because things can always happen. There are dropouts and other types of setbacks,” he reflected during the official press conference this Thursday at the Circuit de Catalunya, where he won twice: in 2016, proclaiming himself the youngest winner in F1 history, with 18 – and last year.

“The win in Monaco was very good. I don’t know if it was our best weekend, but we did it well; and it was a good weekend. In the race it was about staying on track and seeing what Fernando ( Alonso, who finished second in Montecarlo). .

With information from EFE