Fernando Alonso flipped Valtteri Bottas off during the Turkish GP qualifying session on Saturday.
Alonso has been on a roll both on and off the track. While on it, he has been exceptional for the last few races, he has attracted controversy off it. First he criticised the FIA, then he was summoned by the stewards, and before that, he gestured a ‘f**k you’ to Bottas.
The Spaniard was on a flying lap when Bottas was on a cooldown lap. The Mercedes driver ended up blocking him inadvertently, and Alonso was not happy about it. It was a dangerous move from Bottas, and could have ended both their sessions.
In response to what happened, Alonso flipped Bottas off and continued to drive.
Best quali yet
Alonso qualified sixth overall, and was promoted to fifth after taking Lewis Hamilton’s penalty into consideration. The Alpine driver revealed that he was very happy with his performance, and gave his thoughts on the same.
As reported by Autosport, he said, “The truth is that I am very happy. It was probably the best Saturday of the year.
“We came from the best race in terms of competitiveness in Sochi, and now I felt good as well. Always in the almost wet conditions, we were fourth, fifth, sixth, and now in Q3 as well, when normally we dropped to ninth or so.
“With Hamilton’s penalty, we will start fifth on the clean side and with the medium tires, we qualified within Q2. So it’s been a good Saturday. Let’s see how we finish the job tomorrow,” he concluded.
Alonso has been in great form for the last few races. A podium on Sunday would be a fitting reward for his incredible performances with Alpine.
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