A Painful Friday for Fernando Alonso in Bahrain

Following Formula 1 —and especially Fernando Alonso— has long ceased to be a mere hobby and has become an act of faith. Blind, persistent, unyielding faith. The kind that requires convincing oneself, every weekend, that the best is yet to come, even when everything suggests otherwise. As if every Friday, with liturgical punctuality, the way of the cross of a believer awaiting their particular resurrection is repeated. In Bahrain —where only between 5% and 15% of the population practices Catholicism— the parallelism makes sense: it was a truly painful Friday.

The day started off on the wrong foot from the garage. Alonso didn't even participate in the first free practice sessions, as Aston Martin, like four other teams, handed his car over to test driver Felipe Drugovich. Thus, the entire work program was compressed into the second session, the evening one, more representative due to the nighttime race conditions in Sakhir. Up to that point, nothing alarming. The strange —almost surreal, almost Berlanguian— would come shortly after.

Just a few minutes into the second free practice, the Spaniard felt something odd when turning the steering wheel. When he pulled a bit more... it came off in his hand. Literally. As if the single-seater, already weary of hardships, wanted to play a macabre joke on him. Alonso, instead of being frightened, burst out laughing. Perhaps because he knew he was lucky: the scene occurred at low speed, just before starting a lap. Perhaps because, after twenty years at the top, there's no scare that can unsettle him.

The image, more akin to a sitcom than Formula 1, gave way to discomfort. The mechanics worked against the clock to reposition the steering wheel and ensure everything was in place, under the watchful eye of Jo Bauer, the FIA's technical inspector. They had to take note, in case a penalty was warranted. Between repairs and checks, Alonso lost more than half an hour of the only useful session on Friday. As a precaution, the entire steering column was even replaced.

When he returned to the track, he had just 28 minutes left. His best time left him in a modest 15th position. Neither promising nor catastrophic. But illustrative: Aston Martin is not where it wants to be. Not even close. If there's a circuit that allows for precise calibration of the teams' real state, it's this one. Here, the pre-season tests were conducted, here the cars have no excuses. And with Lance Stroll hovering at the bottom of the table, the outlook looks more like a calvary than redemption.

Meanwhile, at McLaren, the waters are turbulent... and fast. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri each have one victory this season, but it's the Briton who leads the standings. By just one point. Just ahead of Max Verstappen, who remains there, lurking.

In Woking, they know: they have a car to dream, but also to make mistakes. Choosing which driver to support is no small detail. It is, probably, the big decision of their year. And what in 2024 was a tacit hierarchy, this 2025 threatens to become an open contest.

Piastri doesn't hide. He knows he can —and wants to— make things difficult for Norris. Last year, the tepidness with which the Englishman assumed his leader status prevented a strong challenge to Verstappen. The Australian has taken note, and in Bahrain, he has already shown his teeth. He was the fastest on Friday. He led. And that carries weight, even more so when his teammate is also at the top.

Behind them, George Russell and Verstappen himself smell blood. If McLaren gets entangled in a civil war, they are ready to capitalize on the chaos. Everyone in the paddock knows: there's a storm on the horizon. And it starts in orange.

And amid all the focus on Alonso, McLaren, and Verstappen, Carlos Sainz had a quiet but not insignificant Friday. The Madrid native ended the day with the 10th best time, right on the edge between those in the fight and those merely surviving. It wasn't a perfect lap, but it was solid enough to leave Williams in a reasonable position to build on for the weekend.