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Fernando Alonso has revealed that he has been driving through the pain ever since his crash earlier in the season at the 2022 F1 Australian GP.
The 40-year-old suffered a crash during the final spell of qualifying at the Albert Part Circuit while on a run that looked worthy of a top-5 time.
Seven weeks on from the incident, Fernando Alonso is still wrapped up in bandages and has admitted they will not go away without proper rest.
In an interview with Reuters, the two-time world champion said:
“It’s still from Australia. Bones, ligaments, tendons, everything is a mess at the moment. I need two or three months and there is no surgery, nothing you can do. Just rest. Unfortunately, every two weeks I have to drive so I try to rest at home but it will take a few months.”
Alonso could take time out of his Alpine to recuperate and allow reigning F2 world champion Oscar Piastri to step into the cockpit instead. Or, the wily veteran must hold out until F1 summer break following the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP at the end of July.
Despite his difficulties, the Spaniard managed a very commendable P7 finish at the 2022 F1 Monaco GP to score points for the third time in the campaign. His race pace, however, left many other drivers, most notably Lewis Hamilton, frustrated in his wake.
"We had to do a lot of tire management" - Fernando Alonso on his slow pace towards the end of the 2022 F1 Monaco GP
While Lewis Hamilton may have compared Fernando Alonso's race pace during the 2022 F1 Monaco GP to the speed normally shown by F2 cars, the Spaniard has put it down to tire management.
Speaking in an interview after the race at the Principality, Alonso said:
“We had to do a lot of tire management. We had some concerns that the yellow tires (medium) could grain a lot on our car, and the first 10 or 15 laps I took care of the tires a lot.”
Alonso did eventually pick up the pace when he was told about teammate Esteban Ocon's five-second penalty, which ultimately cost the Frenchman a points finish. The Spaniard used this to hit back at Hamilton, saying:
“After that, I pushed again when they told me Esteban [Ocon] had to make a five-second gap, but at that point Hamilton didn’t want to push, hold Esteban at the back – yeah, disappointing.”
Alonso is currently in P13 in the World Drivers' Championship standings with 10 points after seven rounds of racing in 2022.
