“We still have some margin”: Fernando Alonso not worried about competitors catching up with Aston Martin in the championship 

Fernando Alonso is not worried about other mid-field competitors threatening Aston Martin’s fifth place in the constructors championship. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda after the Italian GP qualifying, the Spanish world champion felt that the limited number of points finishing spots on the grid made it difficult for their mid-field rivals to catch up easily.

Currently Williams and Alpine have brought upgrades that have helped them finish ahead of Aston Martin. In the qualifying session ahead of the 2024 Italian GP, Fernando Alonso qualified 11th while his teammate Lance Stroll qualified 17th. The upgrades Aston Martin brought to Monza were circuit specific updates but did not add performance to the car. However, their rivals Alpine, Wiliams and RB brought heavy upgrades.

Fernando Alonso stated Aston Martin was now comfortable in fifth place in the championship. However, with the mid-field bunching up, he felt the opportunities were limited, which means they must make the best of every available opportunity. He also felt that the reality of their place in the pecking order was that they were in the mid-field mix rather than being closer to the front runners where they wished to be.

Asked by Sportskeeda if Aston Martin were worried that their mid-field rivals could catch up in the championship, the Spaniard said:

“I don't know I don't think so I think in terms of points in the championship, we still have some margin. And as I said, because there are only three points available per race for the midfield, it's difficult to catch up when you have 30 or 40 points lead. So I think we are safe, but if in one race, you know, three or four top cars, they don't finish, then big points are in the table and we have to be there to take those.”

Asked if the current performance has become the reality, Fernando Alonso said:

“Same as has been. I think we are always in the midfield. It's been already a few races that I keep repeating always the same message. You know, we are qualifying quite well, a little bit higher than expectations. In the race, we go backwards a little bit and we face reality. And the reality is that we are, yeah, one -tenth up and down with Haas, Williams, Alpine. You know, some races is one one car, somebody is another car, but we are there right in that fight, which is a little bit disappointed.”

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Fernando Alonso believes that Aston Martin needs an upgrade worth significant performance to move further ahead from the mid-field

Fernando Alonso believes that Aston Martin needs an upgrade worth two to three-tenths of performance gains to move away from the mid-field on the grid. The double champion felt the team was working hard to find more performance solutions for their car. However, the setbacks from their previous upgrades set them backward in terms of momentum in the development race. The Silverstone-based team has intended to close the gap between themselves and the front runners, but the last few races have pushed them closer to the bottom half of the grid. Their biggest setback was the upgrades in Imola, which did not work.

Asked if the current upgrades were a legacy of the Imola upgrades that affected the balance, Fernando Alonso said:

“I think it's a little bit of, yeah, mixed things that, you know, went wrong in our season. Some of the packages were an improvement. Some of them there were a step backwards, some of them it was just a side step because didn't change much the performance of the car. So we're still waiting that big upgrade on the car that really fills 2 or 3 tenths and then you clear a little bit the midfield and you go back to just behind the top four teams. So I know team is working flat out to bring some new parts in the next coming races. There is reasonable optimism on those parts. So I think we will finish the season a little bit better than now. But uh yeah the last four or five events definitely, it is a challenge for us.”

Aston Martin are far from replicating the results of the 2023 season, during which, Fernando Alonso managed 12 podiums. Although the finished 2023 in fifth place in the constructors championship, they were closer to the front and further away from the mid-field teams. At the moment, the P11 spot on the grid provides the Spanish champion opportunities to make up lost places at the start.