ESPNF1 Staff
July 31, 2011
Fernando Alonso struggled to pass Mark Webber © Sutton Images
Fernando Alonso said that the first half of the race proved to be costly for him as he finished third in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Starting fifth, Alonso found himself in sixth place in the first lap as both Mercedes cars got ahead of him. Though he clearly had the pace and managed to pass both Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg by the end of lap three, Alonso then made a mistake and had to pass Rosberg again, losing time behind the Mercedes for a further six laps.
Having got himself up to fifth, Alonso was then stuck behind Mark Webber and after a short stint he pitted early to gain the undercut - a move which gave him clear air and allowed him to climb up to third by the finish. Alonso said that by the time he had space to show his speed it was too late to challenge for victory.
"Well I think in this type of conditions the race is very long, and you need to be always focused because with so many pit stops and so many weather conditions anything can happen," Alonso said. "So I stayed focussed in the beginning but unfortunately the start didn't go as we predicted.
"Both Mercedes overtook us on the start so I had to overtake Michael [Schumacher] and then Rosberg two times, and then with the pit stops we found ourselves behind Webber for half of the race. So after that we were able to push in some free air and we were quite quick but the first 30 laps we were behind the Mercedes and behind Mark so that was a little bit too much for the prize."
Credit: ESPN F1 (en.espnf1.com)
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