Alonso: “It was not comfortable in the car”

The Aston Martin team is experiencing a series of disappointing weekends. For the third consecutive race, the team based in Silverstone has not scored any points and seems to be falling further down the hierarchy. Worse, in Brazil, they simply lived a nightmare with no less than three accidents during the weekend. During qualifying, the two drivers each caused a red flag after going off track (Stroll at turn 3 in Q2, Alonso at turn 12 in Q3). Despite still starting thanks to the fantastic work of the mechanics, the race of the Aston Martin team unfortunately turned into a fiasco even before the start.

An avoidable retirement for Stroll.

Indeed, during the warm-up lap, the Canadian driver lost control of his Aston Martin approaching the fourth turn. The single-seater nevertheless slid on the new asphalt of the Interlagos circuit, preventing it from hitting the wall. However, in trying to get back on track as quickly as possible, he went through the gravel and planted his Aston Martin for his third retirement of the season and his second incident of the weekend. On the other hand, Fernando Alonso did not retire, even though his back had been causing him a lot of pain throughout the race and he had to deal with brake issues.

A real nightmare for Alonso

Qualified ninth after his crash in the final part of qualifying, the double world champion was having a solid race before going straight at turn 43. Rejoining the track in last position, the Spanish driver indicated that he refused to give up in support of the mechanics who repaired his car, even though the new bumpy asphalt of Interlagos damaged his spine. « There were a lot of bumps, a lot of hopping in the second half of the race. I don’t know why, but it was a tough race. We were out of the points. In any other situation, I probably would have stopped. But the mechanics did an incredible job before the race to get the car ready on the grid, so I had to finish for them. »

The Spaniard indicated that these back problems have worsened over the races, making his Grand Prix more and more difficult, especially as he was already facing some health issues in recent days: an intestinal infection that forced him to return to Europe between the rounds in Mexico and Brazil. « It was painful, for sure. The preparation for this race required a lot of work on my part, a lot of tests, treatments, physiotherapy, and doctors to be able to come here to Brazil. So everyone has put in a lot of effort, the same effort as the mechanics did today. It was not comfortable in the car. »

Brake issues on the Aston Martin

In addition to a single-seater suffering from rebounds, it was also very difficult to drive due to numerous brake problems that seem to have affected both drivers. « I think Lance had a brake problem during the formation lap, and I had this brake issue after all the restarts, where all the braking balance shifts completely to the rear », Alonso revealed to Autosport. « It was like braking with a handbrake. Although the problem has not yet been identified, it could be a specific brake balance setting or, in rainy weather, it mostly shifts to the rear to heat the tires, but without resetting afterwards. »

A new disappointing result that leaves the team in doubt before entering the final stretch of the season. For Alonso, the team must make progress to approach the year 2025 with greater confidence, which will be marked by the arrival of Adrian Newey in Lawrence Stroll’s British structure. In short, it was a nightmare on the track. We need to improve for the next three races.