Fernando Alonso’s Facing Aston Martin’s Uphill Battle: Will They Bounce Back or Fall Further?
Fernando Alonso is not holding his breath for a rapid recovery from Aston Martin’s recent dip in Formual 1 competitiveness. While the team began last season hot on the heels of Red Bull and frequently found themselves on the podium, sustaining that momentum proved impossible as they slipped into a fifth-place finish. Despite rolling out the most comprehensive series of upgrades in the 2024 season, these updates failed to close the gap with the leading quartet, leaving Aston Martin languishing as Red Bull extended its lead.
More troubling for the team, Alonso has struggled to make it past Q1 and has yet to score points since Aston Martin unveiled a significant update package in Imola. This has led to suspicions that the AMR24 has become more challenging to drive. In recent rounds, Alonso candidly described these experiences as a 'wake-up call' and ‘crucial’ for the team's future, particularly as they gear up for the 2025 regulations.
'These two weekends have been essential for understanding our weaknesses and improving the car,' Alonso stated after failing to score points in Monaco. 'In tough times, you always learn more, and that's what we're doing for the rest of this year, and looking ahead to 2025 and 2026. These races have been a significant wake-up call and will benefit us immensely.'
The two-time world champion is managing expectations, noting that a substantial performance upgrade for his car will take 'a few races' to materialize. However, Alonso revealed that Aston Martin remains committed to gradually bringing minor innovations to nearly every race weekend, including upcoming events in Canada and his home race in Spain. 'We had some doubts after Imola and in Monaco, where we didn’t manage to go fast, and we have to try to change this trend,' he added.
Alonso emphasized that 'it will take us a few races' to see a significant improvement, but until then, the team must give it their all to achieve better on-track results. 'There will be better days, worse days, and we have to be united,' he stressed. Although Alonso lamented Aston Martin’s regression to the 'midfield instead of the front runners,' he remains optimistic that a breakthrough upgrade on the AMR24 could change their fortunes.
'All in all, it was a difficult weekend. You learn a lot from the struggles, and that’s what we’re trying to do, but it’s tough… It's definitely not ideal,' Alonso admitted, acknowledging the team's current form was less than satisfactory. He still holds hope that things can change quickly. Drawing from numerous other examples, he noted how quickly fortunes can shift with the right upgrade, and back-to-back substantial improvements on the car could boost their standing by five or six positions.
'That’s our goal for the next race, and we're working hard in that direction,' he concluded.