On the podium the dazzling smile is no longer Max’s. He must have gotten used to it by now, even the party becomes a routine. The one who smiles the most is Fernando Alonsoprotagonist of an incredible head-to-head with Sergio Perez, who has the strongest car, the best tire management, and many years younger than him.
But the heart is something that is different, and not everyone has the same one, there are those who have bigger ones. Like old Fernando, who is 42 years old and has such a big heart. It’s a battle for third place, and he wins it. And on the podium is her smile full of joy. For the rest, the Cannibal never stops, 52 victories, number 17 of the current year, Sao Paulo also won, where last year Red Bulla had struggled, leaving the way clear for Mercedes. But today the Mercedes are sinking, Russell retired, and Hamilton hidden in anonymity almost at the bottom of the top ten.
Behind Verstappen, there is now a fixed McLaren, that of Norris, this time, as could already be guessed in the sprint race, when Max and Lando flew by with an average of over a second per lap ahead of the chasing group, made up of Mercedes, Ferrari and the surprising Alpha Tauri. Starting from sixth place, Norris soon found himself on Verstappen’s tail and never let go, finishing about ten seconds behind the leader. McLaren is now the second stable force on the track, and perhaps only our dear Freddie hasn’t noticed it yet. Ferrari deals with bad luck and its mediocrity. Leclerc doesn’t even start. Sainz is sixth.
Dreams and reality. Dreams take into account the will of the gods only in our favor, otherwise they wouldn’t be dreamsthe. Unfortunately, heaven must have a lot of other things to think about and doesn’t always listen to us. This is reality. Frederic Vasseur said before the start: «Yesterday we had a good start. We need to focus on track position, because it will be necessary to have a good first stint without being in the middle of the group. Behind us Lewis and Norris don’t have a new set and this is definitely an advantage. Today we are more relaxed than yesterday and it should go well.”
Indeed. Then, as mentioned. here’s the bitter reality: Leclerc hits the wall before the green light, during the formation lap. Boom! «I lost the hydraulics, why the fuck am I so unlucky? Why the fuck am I so unlucky?» he repeats desperately over the radio. «I lost the hydraulics of the steering wheel first, then the rear wheels locked themselves and I ended up against the wall. I’m angry and sorry. Everything was set up to do well in the race and in the end I went home after less than three corners. It hurts. We will talk about it with the team. This year definitely hasn’t been the luckiest for me. Maybe a trip to Lourdes will help me, I don’t know what to do». The ineffable Freddie however manages to say that with this stroke of bad luck Ferrari has missed a great opportunity.
What opportunity with Sainz arriving 50 seconds behind Max and 40 seconds behind Norris? The race starts and immediately Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen collide and end up outside. In the chaos, Ricciardo has a damaged rear wing. Safety car and new restart. The only Ferrari in the race, that of Sainz, already quite far back on the grid, it starts off badly too. He also protests via radio, but not against fate: «When we get to Maranello, we’ll throw away this friction!». Again for the «reality is not like dreams» series, Lando Norris, who Vasseur considered to be at a disadvantage compared to the Ferraris, is the only one who travels at a decent pace compared to Max Verstappen, even if at a safe distance from the Cannibal, also beating the fastest lap, while poor Carlos, with his clutch to waste, doesn’t take off from sixth place which he also has to defend in the final laps from the possible assault of Gasly. Nothing happens anymore anyway. The only emotions are given by Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez competing for the third step of the podiumor with overtaking and counter-overtaking: the old Fernando, with a short nose, makes it, a few centimeters ahead of his rival in the final sprint. I’m almost forty seconds behind the first, the Cannibal, who could already be in the shower celebrating if there wasn’t an awards ceremony with anthems. But this is a detail that no longer matters.
2023-11-05 19:40:12
#verstappen #brazil #Tiscali #Sport
