Fernando Alonso hopeful of more "happy surprises" with the new Aston Martin upgrades

Fernando Alonso believes that the Mexican circuit is not the ideal venue to assess Aston Martin’s car upgrades. Speaking to media, including Sportskeeda, after qualifying, the Spanish driver remained cautiously optimistic about his chances in the race.

The Q2 session saw Yuki Tsunoda's crash bring out the red flags, cutting down Alonso’s flying lap and eliminating the Spaniard and his teammate Lance Stroll. Aston Martin had introduced upgrades for the U.S. and Mexico GPs, but Alonso noted that Mexico’s unique characteristics made it challenging to assess their impact fully.

He pointed out that the high-altitude circuit, with its low grip levels, posed specific challenges, making it difficult to determine whether the upgrades had improved the car. The altitude at the circuit makes cars feel lighter, complicating efforts to bring them into the optimal performance window. Alonso also remarked that Mexican GP qualifying often produces unexpected results and surprise eliminations.

Starting his 400th race from 13th on the grid, Alonso was realistic about his prospects in the race.

Asked by Sportskeeda if the car felt better after the upgrades or if they had a significant impact in terms of lap time, Fernando Alonso said:

“Difficult to tell I think here in Mexico always feels not so good because the altitude. I think the level of grip is low. So as I said I think sometimes you have happy surprises, sometimes you have a negative surprise. We see it is the same for everybody. Normally in Q1 there is always one or two top guys surprisingly out and today was I think good for us a little bit unlucky with the flag. But I was lucky in the last few events you know with the flag so everything compensates.”

Asked where he expects to finish from P13 on the grid, he said:

“Let's see. I think you know obviously we have the feet in the ground normally Saturday is a little bit better than some days for us. We always struggle more on the race pace. So I don't expect miracles, but at the same time I'm ready to fight.”

Aston Martin had introduced upgrades in Austin, where Alonso finished 13th and teammate Lance Stroll came in 15th. With the US GP being a sprint weekend, offering only one practice session to assess the upgrades, the Mexican GP follows a more traditional format with three practice sessions, providing more time to evaluate the car’s performance.

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Fernando Alonso feels that the Mexican GP weekend has been encouraging despite Q2 exit

Fernando Alonso said he felt the Mexican GP weekend has been positive for the team, especially in terms of performance during practice sessions. He noted that despite having three sets of tires available in the first session, only two were needed to get the cars into a competitive position.

In Q2, Alonso opined, the Aston Martin had the pace to qualify between P8 and P10 on the grid. He reckoned he had improved by two and a half tenths on his previous lap time before the red flag cut his run short.

Asked about his qualifying session and car performance in Mexico, Alonso said:

“Yeah, I think it was strong. You know, the weekend, no doubts in the free practice. But I have to say that in qualifying I felt a lot better than any other free practice, we were we were concerning qualifying one. We opted to use three sets of tyres at the end, it was not even needed the third set.

"And then in Q2, I think it was a good lap now until the red flag. I was two tenths and a half up on my previous times. So I think P8 or P9 was possible on Q2 which is an encouraging sign maybe into tomorrow’s race.”

Fernando Alonso currently sits ninth in the drivers’ standings with 62 points, while Aston Martin holds fifth place in the constructors’ championship with a total of 86 points. As the 2024 season nears its end, the team has shifted much of its focus to its 2025 project, especially with the arrival of Adrian Newey. However, the 2024 campaign has been a far cry from their successful 2023 season, where they secured a number of podiums and even a pole position.