Fernando Alonso says he is not stressed about Aston Martin being out-developed by rival teams in Formula 1 this season.
Aston Martin has provided the surprise story this year, emerging from successive finishes of seventh in the championship to land six podiums in the first eight races of 2023.
However, the Silverstone squad has not appeared inside the top three in three of the past four rounds, with Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren all since taking turns to establish itself as Red Bull’s nearest challengers.
However, Alonso contends that he is not concerned with the development of Aston Martin’s AMR23, reiterating the side didn’t expect to be this competitive this season.
Asked if he was happy Aston Martin is set to introduce new parts in the coming races, Alonso said: “Not really. To be honest I’m not one to stress about the development.
“You know, the car is better than expected this year. We are fighting for things that we could probably never dream at the beginning of the year.
“So, now, if we can keep in the top 10 and fighting with the top guys, it’s great. But I think we have to focus as well on the long-term picture.
“We cannot get stressed every weekend if we are seventh or if we are fourth or if we are in the podium. We need to be very pragmatic and very relaxed about our performance.”
Fernando Alonso (ESP) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR23 makes a pit stop. 09.07.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 11, British Grand Prix, Silverstone, England, Race Day.
Aston Martin lacked competitiveness throughout the British Grand Prix weekend, with Alonso qualifying ninth and team-mate Lance Stroll only managing 12th.
The two-time World Champion was eventually able to capitalise on pitting under a Safety Car period beyond the halfway point to propel his way up to sixth on Sunday.
Despite Aston Martin’s recent regression, Alonso has again pointed to the British marque’s results this time last year to showcase the vast improvement its made.
“I mean if someone else is faster than us we cannot, you know, do anything,” he repeated. “We just need to understand, we need to learn from the things we do and being happy of the position we are, you know, not being happy with P7, while last year they were dead last here, you know.
“I think Lando [Norris] was P6 here in Silverstone last year. [Nicholas] Latifi [for Williams] was P10 here last year. So, let’s see in Abu Dhabi.
“But two races ago, in Canada, we were fighting for the win, so it’s not that the first races we were in the podium and then we step back.
“You know, three weeks ago we were fighting in Canada for the win, so I’m relaxed.”
Mercedes’ double top-five finish has seen it open up a 22-point advantage over Aston Martin in the battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship.
But Ferrari’s torrid outing that witnessed both drivers come home at the tail end of the top 10 means the Italian side is a further 24 points adrift.
Meanwhile, McLaren moved into fifth after accruing a sizeable 30-point haul last weekend, but the Woking entry remain a seismic 98 points behind Ferrari in fourth.
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