Two-time F1 World Champion Alonso reviews his first stage of Dakar Rally action

Fernando Alonso has completed the first stage of the 2020 Dakar Rally. The two-time Formula 1 world champion finished 11th fastest in the desert and is 10 minutes behind his leading Toyota teammate. Alonso reviews his first day on the sand. 

"We had a day not without complications because everyone had them and that will be the case every day, but we've tried to keep the problems as minor as possible," Alonso is quoted by Autosport. 

"The car went well in the stage, it felt good, I was very comfortable with it and had no scares, as we wanted to start a bit cautiously. The idea is to do these first few stages on tiptoes, without any excesses or doing anything strange, just trying to learn more about the race while we are in it and get to know the car and the terrain a bit better."

The jungle 

The former McLaren driver says he'll start to push more as the event goes on. Alonso hopes to gain better rhythm and momentum in the second week as the jungle clears. 

"Hopefully in the second week, there will not be so many cars, so many bikes, so many quads [bikes and quads started the stage earlier], as it's a jungle from the mid-stage onwards. In the second week, we hope to have calmer stages. If we arrive [at that point] with the car in perfect condition, we'll try to push a bit more then," the Spaniard added.