Aston Martin Addresses Alonso's” Ninth-Fastest Team” Assessment
Following the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Fernando Alonso, the seasoned Aston Martin driver, offered a candid assessment of his team's performance, suggesting their car currently ranks as the ninth fastest on the grid. This evaluation came after a weekend where initial flashes of speed were ultimately overshadowed by what he perceived as underlying limitations.
Alonso's initial pronouncements after the sprint qualifying session placed Aston Martin as the eighth fastest, a viewpoint he revised downwards after the main event. He attributed the seemingly better performances during earlier sessions to the disruptive nature of sprint weekends and the specific tire compounds used, which momentarily masked the car's true capabilities. The implementation of a new hard tire compound by Pirelli, for instance, saw most teams experimenting with it only during practice, highlighting its slower characteristics compared to the medium compound.
During the sprint race and qualifying, Alonso noted, \"It's a sprint weekend so there is a little bit of a mix and the people getting used to some things, rookies as well \u2013 they need to learn the track. So, I don't know, in all our metrics we are the eighth-fastest team... So, happy in that regard but I don't think that this is a particularly good weekend for the Aston.\" However, his sentiment shifted after the Grand Prix, where he finished 10th.
Post-race, Alonso reiterated his concerns about the car's performance over longer distances. He observed, \"We were slow compared to the cars in front of us and we were holding the Racing Bull [of Liam Lawson] behind us. They were within one second of us the whole race, so that means they had more pace than us.\" He further emphasized the disparity between their qualifying speed and race pace, stating a clear need for improvement in the remaining races of the season.
The race itself saw Alonso lose two positions at the start, though he managed to regain them due to incidents involving other drivers. Despite managing to hold off Liam Lawson for much of the race, the gap between them remained consistently narrow, underscoring the challenge Aston Martin faced in maintaining competitive speed. Alonso's revised ranking of his team's car to ninth-fastest, behind teams like Haas and Sauber, reflected this reality, noting that only Alpine seemed to be struggling more.
Team principal Mike Krack, while acknowledging Alonso's perspective, offered a more nuanced view. He pointed out the varied tire strategies employed by different teams during the race, with some starting on softs, others on hards, and most on mediums. Krack stressed the importance of a comprehensive post-race analysis, taking into account factors like traffic and DRS usage, before definitively concluding on their car's true standing. He admitted that the car's performance varies across circuits, highlighting specific track characteristics that either suit or hinder their package. The team's immediate focus remains on maximizing performance and securing points in the upcoming Mexican Grand Prix and beyond.