Fernando Alonso has denied that his friendship with fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz is on the rocks following a string of on-track incidents. In Australia, Ferrari’s Sainz lost his points finish following a penalty for tapping Alonso into a spin – and they were again wheel-to-wheel this weekend at Baku. Aston Martin’s Alonso suggested a penalty may have again been appropriate for the incident in the sprint race. In fact, Alonso said it was yet another good weekend for Aston Martin even though his string of podium finishes came to an end. “On a bad weekend for Aston Martin we fought for the podium in Ferrari’s best weekend,” he said. Sainz also played down any suggestion of a rift with his friend and mentor Alonso. Sainz also vowed to up his game in time for this weekend’s race in Miami.

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