Alonso's surreal week: from the Spa crash to dreams of a podium at the Hungaroring

Suddenly, the wind shifted, but not just for Q3, but also for the pattern of the weekend and even the season. Practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix produced a sensational and unexpected starting grid. A disbelieving Charles Leclerc would start first, while McLaren were wondering at the finish which way the wind had blown.

Norris and Piastri were running riot from Friday until the final block of qualifying. On a different level, as were Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin. rubbing their eyes as the two British team drivers emerged onto the third row, in another disconcerting turn compared to just seven days earlier. The Asturian had finished just 109 thousandths of a second off pole , and on Sunday he could even aim for the podium at the Hungaroring, a track that historically tends to break the mold of results over what is usual in the season.

For now, that's how it went on Saturday. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz will start thirteenth, a solid result given Williams' circumstances at this circuit. " The worst car of the year," summed up the Madrid native at the finish , saving face for the British team when Albon started from last place. At least his personal honor is safe.

Feint and hit

Charles Leclerc , first, with a time of 1:15.372. A surprise even for the driver himself at the finish . Next was Piastri, 26 thousandths behind, followed by Norris , 41. Fourth was Russell, 53 behind. How so? The unexpected sandwich to McLaren left everyone astonished. Even more so given the Asturian's fifth position, just 109 thousandths off pole , with Lance Stroll 19 thousandths behind him. The car, which left its drivers last at Spa, boosted them to the third row of the grid at the Hungaroring.

The god Aeolus played a trick on McLaren . With no rivals in every session, including Q1 and Q2, the overcast skies and the changing winds disrupted the track. The latter factor torpedoed MCL39, which lost half a second compared to Q3, having been four-tenths faster than Ferrari and seven over the rest of the field over the two days. Leclerc burst into laughter when his team announced that he would be starting first. Literally.

The one who surprised, but ultimately proved undeceptive, was Aston Martin. With their chosen combination of a rear wing (from Imola) and a front wing, both Astons finished ahead in the second free practice session. The British team simulated qualifying, running low on fuel, but the Spa record raised doubts about this unexpected potential . But Aston Martin wasn't bluffing.

On his first flying lap in Q1, Alonso clocked a 1:15.979. He later clocked a 1:15.281 to finish third in the first block. Leclerc's pole position was a 15.3. With five sets of soft tyres, Aston Martin was ready to unleash its full potential on Saturday. Another superb lap by the Spaniard in Q2 allowed him the audacity to stay in the pits for the final stretch.

Then the wind changed. Alonso adjusted the front end to try to adapt to the conditions, and had two sets of new soft tires. For part of Q3, the Asturian was second, just 0.08 seconds behind Piastri. "There wasn't much wind in Q3, or rather, it changed direction and made the track slower , so we couldn't repeat the times from Q1 and Q2. But it was the same for everything," explained the Asturian.

"We tried to start in the middle of Q3 to get some clean air, thinking the wind would always get worse, and you never know, but being fifth and sixth (Stroll) I think we didn't choose the wrong time to run." A surreal overall result looking back at Spa.

"Spa "It's a very efficient track, where you have to lower the wing a lot to go fast on the straights and then in the corners you have to suffer, and perhaps the car doesn't perform in that configuration. Here we put the full wing and we felt more comfortable," Alonso noted to explain the contrast. "The truth is that the setup , heights, tire camber and all the things we have in the steering wheel for engine braking, brake distribution... Everything is exactly the same as last week in Belgium , so the characteristics of the circuit suit us better, that's a bit of the crux of the matter."

"For now, the only thing left to understand is how at Spa a week ago we were 19th and 20th and here, without touching the car, nobody, I think, because from one week to the next nobody has brought improvements or changed many things, we are fifth or sixth. So we have to learn from what went well here in order to be able to carry it over to the next races," Alonso explained without much fanfare at the end of the session.

Is it possible to repeat the surprise on Sunday ? Is even a podium finish possible? For now, rain is forecast to be receding for the race. "First, try to get to P4 at the start, because the clean zone here is usually quite clean . So that would be the first objective. Then, see if it rains, try not to make any mistakes, make the right decisions at the right time. If it doesn't rain, then try to finish in the position you started from, because it's difficult to overtake here in Hungary. So, starting fifth, we have a good chance of scoring a lot of points as a team, and that will be the objective."

Sainz, a personal victory

For his part, Sainz achieved a personal and moral victory for the unique circumstances of the Hungaroring and the FW47. If aerodynamic efficiency was Aston Martin's weak point at Spa, and the opposite was true for Williams, the Madrid native warned before arriving at the Hungarian track that it would be the other way around. He was right. At least Sainz didn't suffer Albon's catastrophe.

"The speed is still there," Sainz recalled on Thursday, emphasizing the operational factors and the British team's dismal fortune as traveling companions. Already on the first lap, the FW47's rough behavior was evident . A 1.18 to start, as if the turn hadn't even happened. The worst was feared. In fact, that was the case for his teammate, bewildered by his last grid position. Five minutes from the end of Q1, Sainz found himself in the elimination zone . His last lap, in extremis, placed him seventh in the first group, a relief given the wind was blowing for Williams, but not the weather factor in his case.

Unlike at Spa, Sainz managed to steer his car into the narrow performance window, despite being last on the track, and his final attempt was compromised by heavy traffic ahead. In the final, thirteenth place finish, just one tenth separated the tenth-place finisher in Q2 from the Madrid native, who had Hamilton and Antonelli as pit stop partners in the second block.

"The truth is, I'm happy to have overcome difficulties and be in the top 13 after having suffered a lot all weekend . I think this circuit is perhaps the worst so far all year, and we've suffered a lot," Sainz explained with a serious expression. "The wheels, the tire preparation, and above all, after having spent the entire weekend testing setups , I went back to what I know, and in the end it worked for me." The points are not far away, and scoring them would be a real triumph for Williams, as well as good compensation for the Madrid native. It wouldn't be bad if the wind changed for Carlos Sainz at the Hungaroring as well .