Alonso: "We cannot afford to be behind Haas and Williams"

Is Aston Martin still able to score points? While the British team seemed to be able to compete with Mercedes at the beginning of the season (Alonso had notably finished ahead of the two drivers from the German team in Saudi Arabia and Japan, editor's note), the dynamics have since completely reversed.

Results that drop in qualifications and in the race

After finishing in the points in the first seven races, the Silverstone team only made it into the top 10 five times in the following nine rounds. Unfortunately, the situation is similar in qualifying. While at least one Aston Martin regularly reached Q3 in the first seven qualifying sessions of the season (including during sprint race qualifications), this only happened five times in the last 12 sessions, indicating a clear decline in performance. In Italy, neither of the two drivers entered the top 10, neither in qualifying nor in the race, with the Spaniard missing out on Kevin Magnussen's 10th place by two-tenths of a second.

After the race, the former Ferrari driver acknowledged that something was wrong with the car, especially in terms of the improvements that don't seem to be working properly. He admitted to feeling powerless despite his efforts on the track. "There is nothing we can do, we are at the team's mercy. I think that Lance and I are doing our best every weekend. A weekend as inspired as this one for me, I know it will be 'a completely anonymous Monza 2024 for Alonso' [...] I was happy with the car and I maybe pushed it beyond its limits, which got me 11th place, so I'm disappointed about that," said the Spanish double world champion.

Aston Martin behind Williams and Haas at Monza

At Monza, despite a promising eleventh place, Alonso acknowledged that changes need to be made within the team, which must imperatively question itself and improve. The Spaniard also pointed out that teams like Haas or Williams now appear to be more performant, a situation observed this weekend, where the Aston Martin finished behind Albon's Williams and Magnussen's Haas, despite the 10-second penalty imposed on the latter for colliding with Pierre Gasly.

« But now, being behind Williams, behind Haas, behind [RB], I think we need to raise the bar a bit. We need to improve. » Regarding his Italian Grand Prix, he added: « We were lucky with the start, we overtook Nico [Hülkenberg] and we were 10th, close to Alex [Albon]. We managed to keep up the pace, surprisingly, with the Williams, so I'm happy about that, and then we undercut them, so we were 9th for the majority of the race [actually less than 10 laps]. »

« We opted for two pit stops, we couldn't make it with just one because of tire degradation. It's very painful to lose points because I think we deserved them, in a way, with a well-executed race. But we weren't fast enough on track, and we need to improve.

» Currently isolated in fifth place in the constructors' standings, Aston Martin's end of season does not seem to offer many prospects. Nevertheless, despite some frustration at the fact that a team as financially and sportingly powerful as Aston Martin finds itself behind a team like Haas, which has much fewer resources, the Spaniard hopes that new innovations will be introduced to the car to change the situation.

Improvements that seem essential for the team

« As long as we don't have any improvements on the car, it will remain as it is, and that is not enough. Not enough in Monza. Not enough in Zandvoort, in Spa, in Hungary. So I don't think there will be a big change in Baku, in Singapore or in Austin, unless we bring new parts. That's the plan. » The situation of the British team at the end of this season does not seem really ideal, as they try not to fall in the teams hierarchy while already preparing for the year 2026 through numerous recruitments, such as that of Adrian Newey, whose official announcement should come in the next few days.