Alonso calls for calm and is betting on Newey despite a complicated winter.

Fernando Alonso is not trying to sugarcoat the situation. "We are clearly not in the position we wanted to be in.""We missed important stages of preparation, including testing," he admitted to the press in Bahrain. F1 in Barcelona, ​​where they arrived late, and filming days were cancelled.

For the two-time world champion, this initial deficit weighs heavily. "Some teams ran their cars on January 9th, so they've now been analyzing data and troubleshooting for a month." While the others were already fine-tuning their settings, Aston Martin is only just beginning its real work of exploitation in Sakhir.

Repeated interruptions further complicate the task. Each technical anomaly disrupts the planned progress. "We find small problems here and there, on every outing.", he explains, emphasizing that these unforeseen events prevent us from stringing together comparable relays and methodically exploring the settings.

"There are laps where we gain or lose eight tenths of a second by changing just one setting."

This instability makes any hierarchy premature. Lap times fluctuate significantly depending on the adjustments made. Alonso illustrates this phenomenon with a concrete example: "I did a lap yesterday where I went wide at turn 4, and then, all the way to the finish line, I gained eight tenths of a second."

He pursues : "There are laps where we gain or lose eight tenths of a second by changing just one setting." In other words, the Aston Martin is still operating within a poorly defined performance window. Under these conditions, raw lap times don't necessarily reflect the car's true potential. car. One Lance stroll He mentioned a delay of several seconds, but his Spanish teammate preferred to put things into perspective. According to him, the team must first stabilize its technical base before accurately assessing its place in the hierarchy.

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Fernando Alonso clearly distinguishes between the two aspects of the project. Regarding the Honda power unit, uncertainty remains. "We don't yet have a good understanding of the regulations and what is required.", he admits, implying that the learning phase is still underway.

However, he has no doubts about the chassis. "After more than 30 years during which Adrian [Newey] dominated F1, it's not like he's going to forget everything in one year." In his view, the presence of the British engineer at the head of development constitutes a medium-term guarantee.

The Spaniard does not claim that the team is already at the expected level, but he is convinced that there is room for improvement. "Even if we're not at 100% now, we'll be there soon."He assures us, convinced that resolving the current problems will unlock the potential of the AMR26.

Realistically, Fernando Alonso is not predicting a miracle for the start of the season. "We won't be the fastest in Melbourne.""The accumulated delay won't disappear in a few days," he warns. Nevertheless, in a rapidly changing regulatory environment, the Spanish driver is focusing more on the project's trajectory than on the immediate results of winter testing. For him, the key is to identify current weaknesses and accelerate the pace of development.