Stranded Alonso passes the test
Monday 25th July 2011
Fernando Alonso's Ferrari just managed to pass a mandatory fuel test after the German Grand Prix.
This was despite the Spaniard having to pull off the track on his slowing down lap at the Nurburgring.
After finishing in second place behind McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, Alonso pulled up and parked his car before hitching a lift back to the pits with Red Bull's Mark Webber, who finished third.
It was initially thought that the FIA might struggle to find the litre of fuel required for the test, but they did and no further action was taken.
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said: "They did the fuel sample - as after the race there had to be one litre of fuel. It is all done. So nothing has happened. It was just a precaution."
However, Domenicali declined to explain how it was that Alonso did not have enough fuel to complete the slowing down lap.
In a separate statement, the FIA said Webber would not face any sanctions for stopping on the return to the pits to pick Alonso up.
The manoeuvre could have been viewed as a breach of the rule requiring cars to proceed directly to parc ferme.
Alonso, who won both his and Ferrari's first race of the season at Silverstone a fortnight ago, said he was happy with the result.
"I am extremely happy - we had a weekend that probably was not the easiest one. We struggled a bit on Friday, in qualifying we were fourth, half a second from pole so no doubts that we struggled a bit more with the weekend," the double world champion said.
"But even with the difficulties we are second and fighting for victory, so this is a fantastic achievement. Second in Valencia, first at Silverstone and second here. It is good."
Given that Ferrari's F150° Italia car is relatively easy on its tyres, Alonso said that he is looking for another strong result at next weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix where hotter conditions are anticipated.
Although temperatures in Germany struggled to get above 12 degrees Celsius, conditions in Budapest are invariably among the warmest of the season.
Alonso added: "We can do better next weekend in Hungary. I am looking forward to a bit more temperature on the track. The soft and super soft tyre should be an advantage for us in terms of how we take on the tyres.
"In a week, we will have a very interesting weekend again. McLaren did a step forward, and Red Bull will be extremely strong, so it is challenging for us."
Despite being leapfrogged by Hamilton in the standings, Alonso still closed to within 86 points of championship leader Vettel, who finished fourth on Sunday.
Credit: ESPN STAR (www.espnstar.com)
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