Alonso calls German GP his best race of the season

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Fernando Alonso may only have finished today’s German Grand Prix in fifth place, but the Spaniard has still hailed it as being his best race of the season given the circumstances he was racing under.

After qualifying down in seventh yesterday, Alonso told the media that he would be looking at all the different possible factors which could come into play during the race, such as the weather and his tire strategy.

The race turned out to be dry throughout, but there were a number of different pit strategies used, and Alonso felt that fifth place was the best result he could have achieved at the Hockenheimring.

“I think fifth place was the maximum today,” Alonso said. “I am very pleased and very happy.

“Austria was probably the best race so far in the season for me, but now it is probably this one as it was quite complex.

“To manage the start, the fuel, the tires, the change of strategy and the battles, it was a very complex race and was very difficult to execute. I am happy.”

Despite securing this result, Ferrari dropped behind Williams in the constructors’ championship, and Alonso admitted that his team needs to up its game if it is to beat the British outfit come the end of the season.

“Yes, I think it is going to be difficult,” he said. “No doubt that Williams is on good form now, they have been very competitive since Canada, that they already showed the potential there. Canada, Austria, Silverstone and here, they were out of reach for us.

“We really need to do a better job if we want to fight with them for the constructors’ championship. We can’t forget Force India and McLaren, especially McLaren. Yesterday they were half a second faster than us. That is also a threat from behind but we need to keep working and improving.

“Our target remains the same, we need to score as many points and possible and try to help Ferrari at every weekend.”

IndyCar Power Rankings: Pato O’Ward moves to the top entering Texas Motor Speedway

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The NBC Sports IndyCar power rankings naturally were as jumbled as the action on the streets of St. Petersburg after a chaotic opener to the 2023 season.

Pato O’Ward, who finished second because of an engine blip that cost him the lead with a few laps remaining, moves into the top spot ahead of St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi, who finished fourth in his Arrow McLaren debut. Scott Dixon and St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who led 31 laps) rounded out the top five.

St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who started first at St. Pete after capturing his second career pole position) Callum Ilott (a career-best fifth) and Graham Rahal entered the power rankings entering the season’s second race.

Three drivers fell out of the preseason top 10 after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – including previously top-ranked Josef Newgarden, who finished 17th after qualifying 14th.

Heading into Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through the first of 17 races this year (with previous preseason rankings in parenthesis):


NBC Sports’ IndyCar Power Rankings

1. Pato O’Ward (5) – If not for the dreaded “plenum event” in the No. 5 Chevrolet, the Arrow McLaren driver is opening the season with a victory capping a strong race weekend.

2. Marcus Ericsson (7) – He might be the most opportunistic driver in IndyCar, but that’s because the 2022 Indy 500 winner has become one of the series’ fastest and most consistent stars.

3. Alexander Rossi (10) – He overcame a frustrating Friday and mediocre qualifying to open his Arrow McLaren career with the sort of hard-earned top five missing in his last years at Andretti.

4. Scott Dixon (3) – Put aside his opening-lap skirmish with former teammate Felix Rosenqvist, and it was a typically stealthily good result for the six-time champion.

5. Romain Grosjean (NR) – The St. Petersburg pole-sitter consistently was fastest on the streets of St. Petersburg over the course of the race weekend, which he couldn’t say once last year.

6. Scott McLaughlin (6) – Easily the best of the Team Penske drivers before his crash with Grosjean, McLaughlin drove like a legitimate 2023 championship contender.

7. Callum Ilott (NR) – A quietly impressive top five for the confident Brit in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s first race as a two-car team. Texas will be a big oval litmus test.

8. Graham Rahal (NR) – Sixth at St. Pete, Rahal still has the goods on street courses, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan remains headed in the right direction.

9. Alex Palou (4) – He seemed a step behind Ericsson and Dixon in the race after just missing the Fast Six in qualifying, but this was a solid start for Palou.

10. Will Power (2) – An uncharacteristic mistake that crashed Colton Herta put a blemish on the type of steady weekend that helped him win the 2022 title.

Falling out (last week): Josef Newgarden (1), Colton Herta (8), Christian Lundgaard (9)