“We deserved to not score any points”: Fernando Alonso's damning verdict about Aston Martin at the F1 Spanish GP

Fernando Alonso believes Aston Martin did not deserve any points finish at the Spanish GP because they were unable to deliver a result. Speaking to onsite media after the race, the double world champion felt that their car performance was disappointing throughout the weekend.

Starting 10th on the grid, Fernando Alonso crossed the finishing line in 12th place at his home race. While a points finish was essential, he managed to qualify 11th on the grid but was promoted to tenth due to Sergio Perez’s penalty. Despite Aston Martin bringing upgrades to their car, the Spaniard was disappointed with the car performance throughout the weekend.

Pointing out the issues with their performance, Fernando Alonso felt that their car lacked pure pace throughout the weekend. He felt the downforce levels at the Circuit de Catalunya did not suit their car. Apart from the lack of pace, he felt the degradation added to the mix.

Asked if it was not the ideal result expected at his home grand prix, Fernando Alonso replied:

“Sure, sure a little bit disappointed because we didn't score any points and we deserved not to score any points. Because we didn't have the pace the whole weekend. But in the race, it was extremely difficult when you slide so much on the corners, also you kill the tires. So you have two problems you don't have the pace plus you have a lot of degradation. So all in all, it has been a very long race for us. We need to get better for Austria.”

Asked about the track characteristics that were not suiting the car, he said:

“Downforce.”

Asked if it was a balance issue, Fernando Alonso replied:

“No. Pure loads.”

---

Fernando Alonso believes Aston Martin need to talk less and deliver more

Fernando Alonso reckoned the Spanish GP result was frustrating and Aston Martin had their work cut out over the rest of the races on the triple header. Looking forward to Austria, he felt they could struggle since the circuit had similar characteristics to Barcelona.

Nevertheless, he felt the team could not afford to be frustrated and needed to deliver more without making too many promises. Although the Silverstone squad is scheduled for an upgrade, the 42-year-old felt that the team had upgraded the car profusely but the upgrades needed to deliver the desired results.

Asked how frustrating it was to have another poor result, Fernando Alonso said:

“It is frustrating, but yeah, nothing you can do now. So you start thinking about Austria immediately when you see the checkered flag and what you can do differently in Austria. I think it's going to be painful as well because it has some characteristics of Barcelona, with the long corners and high-speed sections. So it's going to be another tough weekend also in Silverstone arguably. So yeah we cannot get too frustrated, you know it's time to you know to work harder, to talk less, to deliver more and it's what we want to do.”

Asked if he was looking forward to the upgrades at the Austrian race weekend, Fernando Alonso said:

“Yeah, I'm looking forward but we've been upgrading the car a lot and we didn’t deliver the results. So now it's also a matter of whatever we bring to the track, It does deliver what we expect and we start getting better and better. So as I said, you know, we need to work hard, get better every race, but without too much talking or promising.”

Aston Martin have currently scored 58 points in total and are fifth in the championship standings. Fernando Alonso is ninth in the drivers standings and has scored a total of 41 points. Unlike his podium streak in 2023 which resulted in him finishing fourth in the championship, 2024 has unfolded differently.

With 14 races left on the calendar, it will be important for the Silverstone team to turn around their performance woes over the next two race weekends.