Fernando Alonso believes Aston Martin can “learn more from the difficulties than the celebrations” amid another tough weekend outing at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
After encountering trouble with its latest upgrades in the United States, Aston Martin again lacked the pace of its competitors at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Lance Stroll slumped to a seventh straight Q1 exit, while Alonso wound up only 13th in qualifying, having span for the second time in the weekend in the first segment.
Alonso’s race was then hampered and eventually curtailed by inheriting damage from debris from the first corner contact involving Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc.
“Damage underneath the car with some debris on Lap 1 from Checo’s car, so that was even more painful with a slower car in the race but nothing we can do,” he said.
Amid the issues he was experiencing with his wounded machine, Alonso opted to allow Stroll through prior to his early retirement to maintain pace with the pack ahead.
But the Canadian was running outside of the top 10 when he was pitched into a spin by Valtteri Bottas in the closing laps, resulting in his car also being withdrawn early.
“I mean I lost performance and when I saw Lance I let him go in case he had [a] better chance than me to score points,” Alonso explained. “I think we were both slow in general the [entire] weekend.
“Obviously he changed the setup so we will have more information tonight about his car today compared to yesterday. And my car, unfortunately we will not have many numbers because there was some damage underneath the car.”
Fernando Alonso (ESP) Aston Martin F1 Team and Lance Stroll (CDN) Aston Martin F1 Team on the drivers’ parade. 29.10.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 20, Mexican Grand Prix, Mexico City, Mexico, Race Day.
Aston Martin have only featured in the top three places once since accruing six podiums in the first eight races, slumping to fifth in the Constructors’ Championship.
The Silverstone squad were overhauled by McLaren in Austin and are already 20 points behind the team that has displaced it as a regular front-running contender.
But with Aston Martin a colossal 135 points clear of Alpine in sixth, Alonso asserts that Aston Martin have nothing to contend for across the remainder of the 2023 season.
“Honestly, we are not fighting for anything”, he admitted. “We will learn, even if we have to start from the pitlane, and you know that is more useful than just spending the weekend. In the Constructors’ Championship, we are locked in the position we are.”
Meanwhile, having sat third for a large proportion of the year, Alonso has now dropped behind Spanish compatriot Carlos Sainz to fifth in the Drivers’ Championship.
The two-time World Champion is under threat of also relinquishing places to the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ George Russell.
“In the Drivers’ championship, we will lose a couple of places,” he continued. “But I mean, it is incredible that we are in front of Ferraris, or George or Lando or whatever, but we will lose those positions. They have a very fast car. And yet, let’s see what we can do.”
Alonso insists that the entire side is desperately trying to rectify its plight and contends that it could understand more from its struggles than its early-season success.
“We are working as much as we can,” he relayed. “It’s not that we are just happy with the situation. It’s not the position we wish we were, but at the same time, we are working very hard to reverse the situation. And sometimes you learn more from the difficulties than from the celebrations.
“So right now we have a difficult time. And we are trying to do as many tests as possible, giving as much feedback as possible to the factory in Silverstone. And hopefully, as I said, finish on a high, and not on a low.”
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