SUMMARY
- Fernando Alonso voices concerns over Aston Martin's Australian Grand Prix performance, seeking championship-level results from the team.
- Alonso's daring tire strategy initially paid off, but a contentious on-track maneuver led to a penalty.
Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso has raised concerns regarding the team’s performance at the conclusion of the Australian Grand Prix. The veteran driver is not celebrating just yet even after three races of the 2024 season ended. While Aston Martin managed to snag points with both cars in Australia, Alonso clearly wishes for a championship-winning performance from the British outfit.
As both Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll struggled to get inside the top ten, Aston Martin’s qualifying effort was not exactly a dream come true. As the duo headed towards the race day on Sunday, there seemed to be a brink of hope. Nonetheless, it did not take long for the course of events to change in a matter of minutes while Carlos Sainz made it to the chequered flag when Max Verstappen ended the race with a DNF.
Fernando Alonso highlights why Aston Martin must improve after Australia
On the sunny morning of 24 March at the Albert Park Circuit, the former Ferrari driver gambled on a peculiar tire strategy than the rest of the grid, allowing him to hold his own initially. He even found himself in a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle with Mercedes driver George Russell when the drivers were making their final laps. It ended poorly for Russell as he crashed in the very last lap of the race.
Alonso’s reaction to his penalty in Australia:
“Double points for the team and a better race pace than the rest of the weekend allowed us to cross the finish line in 6th and 7th place. A bit surprised by a penalty at the end of the race regarding how we should approach the… pic.twitter.com/PwbjfOh49T
— Formula Aerodynamics (@aerodynam1cs) March 24, 2024
However, things got a bit too heated for the race stewards, who deemed Alonso’s driving a tad too “dangerous”. A penalty pushed him down from a potential podium finish to a disappointing P8 spot. The 2x champion hinted at the flaws of their 2024 challenger. While speaking of his experience in Melbourne, Alonso stated, “Yeah, it was obviously a very difficult weekend for us in terms of pace.”
He further added, “The race, we were lucky with the [Virtual] Safety Car at the beginning with Lewis, and then the pit stops were great as well, so thanks to the strategy and a little bit of luck obviously we maximized the points. But we cannot forget that the pace was difficult the whole weekend.” The British team intends to replicate their 2023 season performance, yet, it seems to be a long road ahead.
Ex-F1 driver believes Alonso calculated controversial move on Russell
German driver Timo Glock claims that Alonso made that move deliberately and it was so aggressive it sent Russell spinning into the wall. Glock hinted that the Spaniard’s driving might have been a cunning ploy rather than a reckless mistake. While speaking to Sky Deutschland, Glock stated, “Alonso brakes very early and allows Russell to catch up.”
🚨 BREAKING: Fernando Alonso has been given a 20 second time penalty for “potential dangerous driving” after George Russell’s last lap crash in Australia.
The Spaniard drops down to P8, moving Lance Stroll & Yuki Tsunoda up a place.
Alonso also gets 3 penalty points. pic.twitter.com/xCnatfCPBM
— Racing.News (@RacingNews__) March 24, 2024
“Alonso’s idea was to catch Russell off guard, slow him down, and then accelerate early to open a gap. It was so extreme that Russell didn’t expect it at all. He got way too close and lost downforce. Alonso extends his elbows and uses the grey area to gain an advantage. He already knows what he’s doing with his experience” Glock asserted.
The former driver believes that Alonso was strategically trying to disrupt Russell’s flow, messing with his head and shutting down any hopes of an overtake. Intentional breaking and similar maneuvers cause more damage than expected and this particular incident is a wake-up call for Alonso and the rest of the grid.