Alonso Savours Sweetest Victory
Renault's Formula One leader Fernando Alonso said Sunday's dramatic European Grand Prix victory was his sweetest yet this season
"All the other victories I had this year I was leading the race from the beginning to the end, and for me to be leading only on the last lap is a much better feeling," said the Spaniard.
Alonso had been running in second place at the Nurburgring until McLaren's race leader Kimi Raikkonen crashed out with suspension failure on the last lap, gifting the 23-year-old his fourth win in seven races.
He now has a 32 points lead in the standings.
"We were very lucky today, but at the same point we were also very strong and able to push them like at the beginning of the season, not like the last two races," said Alonso.
The Spaniard had tyre problems of his own at Monaco last week when he finished fourth as Raikkonen ran away with his second race in a row for Mercedes-powered McLaren.
"I am extremely happy, more than the victory I am happy because after Monaco the team and me were not happy at all with the result there," Alonso said.
"We had a very good car in Monaco and we didn't take as many points as we believed were possible.
"To be probably the best car on the grid again, to manage the tyres in the race, is probably better news - for the rest of the season - than to win the race.
"It's true that every race we are scoring points, I have finished all the races...and if we keep this consistency it's normal that at the end we will have more and more points gap, and this will be good news for us if we want to fight for the title this year," added Alonso.
Renault team boss Flavio Briatore was less circumspect about his chances, given Alonso's hefty lead over Raikkonen with 12 races remaining.
"We beat Mercedes on home ground and now the Championship is going to be a little calmer for us," said Briatore.
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Drivers | Fernando Alonso |
| Author | Nick Mulvenney |
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