I’m completely damaged” it so hard to believe” but i can’t continue with race anymore” Fernando Alonso ready to move ON After he was….
According to Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin is “getting worse” as the Formula One 2024 season goes on, and his previous employer Alpine’s comeback makes for a “not great combination.”
In F1 2023, Alonso had a fantastic debut season with Aston Martin, finishing on the podium eight times in what was his most successful season since his last year driving for Ferrari in 2013.
Fernando Alonso: Aston Martin ‘getting worse’ as Alpine improve
Aston Martin has found it difficult to reach the same heights in Formula One 2024, as McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes have all jumped ahead of the team in the chase to catch Red Bull. With his two-time World Champion crash in the first qualifying round at Emilia Romagna and Monaco last month, Alonso has only managed to score 10 points in the last four races. In the Spanish Grand Prix qualifying session, Aston Martin faced yet another difficult day, as teammate Lance Stroll finished in 14th place while Alonso only managed 11th.
Alonso is poised to start Sunday’s race from 10th on the grid, with Red Bull driver Sergio Perez serving a three-place grid penalty.
Despite failing to reach Q3 at his home race, Alonso declared himself “happy” with 11th after Aston Martin’s qualifying simulations had predicted a worse result.
He told media including PlanetF1.com: “I’m happy with the result, even if it’s painful to say in front of the home grandstands. Before qualifying, our predictions were a little bit more pessimistic.
We even decided to try for three sets in Q1 with just one car, which shows that you lack confidence. Overall, I believe that we are off to a strong start with P11, or P10 with Checo’s penalty, and maybe we will be only one position away from the points tomorrow. Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, drivers for Alpine, finished seventh and ninth in qualifying, respectively. The Enstone-based team, which on Friday announced the controversial return of former team principal Flavio Briatore in an advisory capacity, continued to improve after a dismal start to the F1 2024 season.
Despite winning both of his World Championships with Team Enstone back in 2005/06 – and returning to F1 with the team after a two-year sabbatical in 2021 – Alonso aimed a series of barbs at his former employers last season, at one stage accusing the team of a “lack of professionalism” during contract negotiations in 2022.
Asked if it is worrying that Alpine now appear to have overtaken Aston Martin in the pecking order, Alonso laughed as he commented that his current team are “probably getting worse” as Alpine are “getting better.”
The 42-year-old also forecast that Aston Martin’s suffering will probably worsen as the summer break draws near, with races scheduled for the following two weekends in Austria and Britain. “I think we knew,” he remarked. Alpine was ahead of us in Monaco, extremely close behind us in Canada, and now only a tenth behind. “So, the combination of the two is not great—they’re getting better and we’re definitely getting worse! However, as I’ve often stated, I believe we have some things in the works that will help us go back on the right track.
“It’s going to be painful here. It’s going to be painful in Austria, in Silverstone.
“We have to keep scoring points if it’s seventh, eighth, ninth, whatever. We cannot give up and [must] stay positive in these tough times.”
