Fernando Alonso speculates why Aston Martin struggled in the 2023 F1 Austrian GP

Fernando Alonso believes his P5 finish was the maximum Aston Martin could achieve at the Austrian GP. The Spaniard felt their performance deficit was track specific and said that they are looking forward to better performances in the upcoming races.

Speaking to the media after the Austrian GP, Fernando Alonso said:

"It was more or less the maximum we could achieve today. It was very close with Lando [Norris] and the Mercedes’ and I think [we could have had] maybe more clear communication for the pit stops but I don’t think it changed the outcome of the race – today was the maximum. I don’t know. I think it’s a little bit of everything. Maybe the circuit didn’t suit our car."

He added:

"Last year, Aston struggled a lot in Austria as well. So there are some similarities from last year as well – Haas here was very fast. I think it was sixth and seventh on the grid last year. They were fast this year, too. So a little bit of the circuit, and a little bit of the upgrades that everyone else brought here. But yeah, we should not be too worried. We have another opportunity next week."

While Aston Martin were able to keep the Mercedes at bay, they were outperformed by the upgraded McLaren. Fernando Alonso was promoted to a fifth-place finish after his team lodged a protest against their rivals for violating track limits, which resulted in a sleuth of post-race penalties.

The two-time world champion was able to cross the line in seventh place on pure pace. The Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin were limited by the rear end limitations of their car, given the track characteristics of the Red Bull Ring circuit.

The Silverstone team had upgraded their car but had only one practice session available to test their upgrades.

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Fernando Alonso believes Silverstone will be a better indicator of Aston Martin’s position in the pecking order

Warning that a resurgent Ferrari could be quicker than them ahead of the Austrian GP, Fernando Alonso had anticipated a dull weekend in Austria.

Alonso believes that Aston Martin's performance deficit was due to the nature of the Austrian circuit, which was also one of their weaknesses last year. The Spanish driver felt that their car behaved differently at this circuit compared to the other ones earlier in the calendar and Silverstone could be a better indicator of their performance progress than the Red Bull Ring.

Speaking to Spanish publication AS, Fernando Alonso said:

“The problem is that we are going to live the whole championship with unbridled passion like football. Every Sunday there are huge highs and huge disappointments, and that can't be. This is a Formula 1 world championship, the cars behave differently in different temperatures, circuits, fast and slow corners...this is much more technical than the thrill of winning a match 3-0 or losing it. We see a 22-race championship in the long run, but the fans will experience ups and downs. We'll see where we are at Silverstone.”

He added:

“In Austria 2022 Aston Martin was the worst team, tenth, while Haas did well both last year and this year. There is a pattern that repeats itself from year to year at certain circuits, some cars understand them better or worse. And that's what worries us most now, to understand why we didn't do well in Austria and Barcelona so that we don't suffer again next year. The fans have to see the drivers' world championship. We have taken some points from fourth this weekend. That's the way it is. We've drawn, if you go back to football, and whoever is behind us has lost.”

Hunting second place in the driver’s championship, Fernando Alonso is currently 19 points behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. In the constructor’s championship, Mercedes are only three points ahead of Aston Martin as both fight for the second place.

Alonso has been able to finish on the podium six times out of the nine races so far this season. Although his podium streak has been broken in recent races, a second place in the championship is still a realistic target for Alonso.