Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso has said that he doesn't believe that there are any more significant upgrades planned for the team in the remaining races. It has been a disappointing first half of the season for the two-time world champion, as he has not finished on the podium in 14 races.
After starting the season on a relatively stronger note, Alonso has found himself battling for the low point-scoring positions in most of the races. Just like the 2023 season, the upgrades for the Silverstone-based team have downgraded their car on the track and thrown them into the clutches of midfield.
Speaking with PlanetF1, Fernando Alonso sounded resigned to the fact that the British team won't have significant upgrades:
“I don’t think so. I don’t think there is anything planned. So it’s more, for us, understanding the weaknesses of the car, the parts that we need to improve, but I think all the work will be done for 2025 – I don’t expect any big jumps in 2024.”
However, Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack was slightly more optimistic about the second half of the season:
“There are more updates planned on the AMR24 in the second half of the season before everything moves to our 2025 car. We need to be realistic, considering the gaps to the front and the gaps behind. We’re not giving up on 2024, but 2025 will soon come into focus."
Fernando Alonso assesses the first half of the 2024 season
Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso said that he's disappointed with the performance of the car in the first half of the season, as they have not been fighting for podiums as they did in 2023.
As quoted by the aforementioned source, the Spaniard said:
“I’m a little bit disappointed. We cannot hide the fact that we are fighting today with Williams, AlphaTauri (sic), and Alpine while, last year, we were looking maybe to the top four teams. Now they are out of reach and we are just defending from the guys behind.
“Even at the beginning of the year – in qualifying, especially – we were always top five, top six in the mix. So there’s definitely a lot of work to do for us in summer break and the second part of the year. We will not give up, but we need to work.” he added.
Fernando Alonso and his teammate Lance Stroll have signed contract extensions,, with the Spaniard possibly racing for the Silverstone-based outfit until 2027. He's P9 in the Driver's Championship with 49 points and a 25-point advantage over his Canadian teammate.