Fernando Alonso has admitted that Aston Martin is “getting worse” as the 2024 F1 season progresses, and the resurgence of his former employers at Alpine creates a “combination no”.
Alonso enjoyed an excellent first season with Aston Martin in F1 in 2023, scoring eight podiums in his most productive campaign since his final year as a Ferrari driver in 2013.
Additional reporting via Sam Cooper
While McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes are ahead of the team in the race to catch up with Red Bull, Aston Martin has struggled to triumph at the same heights in F1 2024.
Alonso has scored 10 points in the last four races, and the two-time world champion crashed in Q1 at Emilia Romagna and Monaco last month.
Aston Martin had a tricky day in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, with Alonso only 11th and teammate Lance Stroll 14th.
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Alonso will start Sunday’s race from tenth on the grid, with Red Bull driver Sergio Perez serving a three-place grid penalty.
Despite failing to make it to Q3 at his home race, Alonso said he was “satisfied” with his 11th position after Aston Martin’s qualifying simulations predicted a worse result.
He told the media and added to PlanetF1. com: “I am satisfied with the result, although it is painful to say it in front of the stands. Before qualifying, our predictions were a bit more pessimistic.
“With a single car, we even opted for 3 sets in Q1, which is a sign that you have a lot of confidence.
“And overall, I think starting in 11th position (or 10th position with Checo’s penalty) is a smart result and hopefully we’ll be just one position away from the points. “
Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon were seventh and ninth respectively in the standings as the Enstone-based team, which announced on Friday the return of debatable former team principal Flavio Briatore to an advisory role, continued its recovery from a poor start. F1. 2024 season.
Despite winning any of his world championships with the Enstone team in 2005/06, and returning to F1 with the team after a sabbatical in 2021, Alonso introduced a series of criticisms of his former employers last season, accusing the team at one point. of a “lack of professionalism” in contract negotiations in 2022.
Asked if he was concerned that Alpine now appeared to have overtaken Aston Martin in the pecking order, Alonso laughed and commented that his current team is “probably getting worse” while Alpine is “improving”.
And with races looming over the next two weekends in Austria and Britain, the 42-year-old predicted Aston Martin’s pain will most likely linger as the summer break approaches.
He said, “I think we knew. The Alpine striker of us in Monaco, very close in Canada and here they are only a tenth striker.
“So they’re increasing and we’re probably getting worse, so the combination of the two is rarely very good!
“But I think, as I’ve said many times, we have things going on that put us in the right direction.
“It’s going to be painful here. It will be painful in Austria, at Silverstone.
“We have to keep scoring if we’re seventh, eighth, ninth, whatever. We can’t give up and we have to stay positive in those difficult moments.
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