Fernando Alonso realistic in Shanghai: "I don't believe the situation was this dramatic ten years ago."

Is the "GP2 engine" experiencing a second act even more violent than during the period Alonso - McLaren A decade after his unsuccessful stint with the Papayas – then powered by Honda – the Spanish rider addressed the press regarding the current situation.Aston Martin at the heart of this new peloton of the F1.

"Unfortunately, the situation has not changed in the last four or five days since Melbourne," Fernando Alonso summarized"I think it's going to be another difficult weekend, trying to understand the car as best we can and limiting the number of laps in some sessions because we're short on parts. We'll try to take something positive from this weekend."

Comparing Aston Martin's progress to that of mid-table teams, such as Haas ou AlpineThe two-time world champion did not hesitate to challenge his two counterparts, who were present alongside him. “Esteban and Pierre, for example, their cars weren’t optimized for Australia, and apparently that was the case for everyone. They’re perhaps ten times ahead of us. If they’ve completed 1,000 laps since the Barcelona tests, we’ve done about a hundred, which is nine or ten times less. So, if they’re still not perfectly optimized, imagine our situation!”

Alonso doesn't sound the alarm... but he makes himself understood.

Initially, Fernando Alonso expressed long-term optimism. Maintaining from day one that the potential of his Aston Martin remained, he continued in this vein. “It’s less difficult than you think. Well, it’s not ideal. We all want to win. There are 22 of us drivers this year. Only one will win; the other 21 will go through a mentally challenging period, because for me, finishing third, fifth, or 17th doesn’t really matter. I’ve had the chance and the privilege to experience different eras in Formula 1, to enjoy driving, and above all, the immense luck to have competitive cars for half my career and to achieve more than 100 podium finishes in the category. So now, as I said, finishing anywhere other than first is the same disappointment, the same struggle.”

“I think I have a different perspective and greater maturity today, but I don’t believe that ten years ago the situation was as dramatic.” he then blurted out about his memories of working with Honda. Formula 1 is a highly publicized sport. When you win several championships simply by beating your teammate, you become a star, and when you go through a rough patch, everything is amplified. In a way, ten years later, the opinion people had of me back then, when we were in that situation, may have changed. They might think now that I was right. Because the biggest surprise for me in recent years has been realizing that ten years ago, McLaren, Stoffel, Jenson, and I—because people always tend to only remember Fernando, but I think Jenson, Stoffel, and McLaren were saying the same thing—this project, the power unit, wasn't sufficiently developed from the start, something everyone seems to understand now.. »

Inclined to end his speech on a positive note, Fernando Alonso wanted to demonstrate maturity, highlighting the need to move forward without seeking to blame any particular speaker. “We are one team. As I said, the start is difficult, but I hope it won't last. It won't be an immediate solution either, so we'll see.”

Without a doubt, seeing the two Aston Martins cross the finish line this Sunday appears once again to be very tricky in Shanghai.

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