F1
Alonso concedes Aston Martin is 'doing something really wrong' and hopes for bounce back in Baku
© Florent Gooden / DPPI
What is happening at Aston Martin ? Far from their dashing form of 2023, the Greens are suffering in 2024 and even more so since the summer break. At Zandvoort and then at Monza, the British single-seaters were invisible, playing in the second half of the table. During the last two meetings, the Silverstone team only scored one point. Even more frustrating: in Italy, Fernando Alonso missed the Top 10 by… two tenths, just behind a Kevin Magnussen yet penalized 10 seconds for a collision with Pierre Gasly.
"I'm disappointed because we had a very good start, overtaking Nico [Hulkenberg] and then [we made] a very good strategy with the two stops, we distanced Alex [Albon] and we were comfortably in ninth. But in the end, with the second stop, we couldn't catch Alex fast enough and we finished a second behind him and a tenth behind Magnussen, so for one second, two positions [lost], it's costly and painful, regrets the Spaniard. We didn't have the pace, but I'm happy with my race and my pace. It was a well-executed race, but we weren't fast enough on the track."
Aston Martin already looking towards 2026?
Lackluster performances, floundering development and a lack of short-term solutions: Aston Martin's situation is very gloomy before attacking the last third of the season. Isolated in 5th place in the Constructors' Championship, with a 40-point lead over Racing Bulls but a significant delay on the four Top Teams, the British team is no longer fighting for anything, except for places of honor. Enough to slightly frustrate Fernando Alonso, who is hoping for a quick rebound for the Greens. "I hope we will understand what we are doing wrong, because it is certain that we are doing something really wrong, and we will improve for Baku."
Bouncing back so as not to fall in the hierarchy by the end of this season well below expectations, this will be the objective for Aston Martin which, let's admit it, already gives the impression of being focused on 2026 rather than on the end of 2024 and 2025. The multiple internal recruitments and the possible (and expected) arrival of Adrian Newey at Silverstone go in this direction... will Fernando Alonso be able to remain patient until then?
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Dorian Grangier
A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.
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Yves-Henri RANDIER
04/09/2024 at 09:30 a.m.
Surprising to see this dear Fernand so calm and politically correct towards his employer, perhaps the impact of the dollars/petrodollars paid by the Aston Martin / Aramco duo! Will he have the patience to wait until 2026 with the potential impact of the arrival of Adrian Newey? With age, we calm down and learn to be more patient ...