Has the Pressure Gotten to Alonzo?
Seven Time World Champion Michael Schumacher was quoted as saying, “I love being back in the fight,” in reference to his latest drubbing of the current World Champion in Germany and the point spread being cut to a very reachable 11 points with six events left.
Given the ever tightening of the points battle you have to ask yourself, “what the hell was Alonzo thinking?”
Alonso was called before the stewards after an incident in practice that saw him visibly hold up Red Bull’s Robert Doornbos, and will now have the penalties added to his qualifying times tomorrow.The penalties will take the form of two seconds to be added to each of his times in all three of the qualifying ’segments’, meaning he is unlikely to make it into the final ten, let alone the second portion of the session.
Why in the name of all that’s “Holy” (Holy in the F1 context, just ask him) purposefully hold up what is generally regarded as a second tier team?
Pressure? Maybe. Using a golf analogy, it could be he has gotten a case of the “yippes.”
Whatever the cause Alonzo will be damn lucky to get into the second round of qualifying. If my math is correct, a dodgy proposition, at best he’s 17th on the grid Sunday.
Renault may as well send him to the back of the field with a new engine and bloated fuel tank. They also better have a specially assigned medical crew on standby for Flavio. He’s already blown a gasket over the damper ruling and this penalty ought to send him straight to the EKG table looking for a heart scan.
UPDATE: Have the Stewards done a little leveling of the playing field, of just a strange coincidence? Regardless Schumie gets the same 2 seconds tacked onto his qual time. Michael will start from the 12th hole Sunday with Alonzo 3 spots back in 15th. And the delicious irony is just ahead of Alonzo are the two Red Bulls, one of which is the reason Alonzo is where he is. Call me crazy, call me stupid but I see a potential problem in that. And if there is expect Alonzo to duck into the pits to get away from the two car bovine blockade. Or worst case, Alonzo ducks into the nearest gravel trap!
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Has the pressure gotten to Alonso? It would appear so, which is unusual in that he is normally quite self controled;the fist shaking when lapping backmarkers is totally justified IMHO, as it is a wake up call to the marshals & the race director to wave some blue flags.
Off topic, read this little gem I pulled off a Italian site, go Flavio.
From
Maybe after Michael received the same 2 seconds the pressure was really on the stewards and not Alonzo. On the other hand Flavio has raised the specter of a race fixing scandal which looking at the strange damper ruling isn’t all the far fetched..
As Josh and I discussed on the phone today, Michael and his comments must be getting to Alonso’s head. He seems to be a strange bird to begin with, now the pressure of a charging seven time champ filling his mirrors can’t be easy to take. We have some interesting races to the end of the season. Like it or not, the tide has absolutely swung in Scumi’s favor.