F1 News: Fernando Alonso Exposes Aston Martin's Plan To Copy McLaren
Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso has revealed his fulfilled expectations of the team's AMR24 F1 car and how he remains content with its current performance despite the ninth-place finish in the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Spaniard also exposed Aston Martin's plan to follow McLaren's 2023 strategy as it looks to up the car's pace in the second half of the 2024 season.
Key Takeaways:
- Fernando Alonso is satisfied with Aston Martin's AMR24 performance despite a ninth-place finish in Bahrain.
- Aston Martin plans to follow a McLaren-like strategy for gradual improvement in the second half of the 2024 season.
- Alonso emphasizes realistic expectations, continuous progress, and potential stronger performance later in the championship.
Alonso outlined the plan for 2024, acknowledging the current performance limitations of the AMR24. He recognizes the need for upgrades to compete at the front of the grid but, underscores the team's deliberate approach, indicating they won't rush into significant performance enhancements in the initial half of the season, as they did last year.
Aston Martin Press Image
Revealing the plan for the current season and how the team changed its approach to the championship, Alonso told the media:
“When I went to the factory at Christmas and in January the expectations were very realistic.
“We knew what kind of a step we were making over winter but I think we changed completely the philosophy of how to approach the championship with a good starting point but then a very continuous progress during the season.
“Last year we put everything I think at the beginning and then we were not able to react to the fast pace of the top teams.
“We have more hopes this year in the second part of the championship.
“We need to reconfirm that in a few weeks and a few races time. But I’m confident, I’m happy. I’m where I expected to be, to be honest. Fourth or fifth fastest team as we finished last year.
“Now it’s up to us to do a kind of McLaren 2023 step and become a stronger team in the second part.”
Jeddah Could Be Different
Suggesting that the AMR24 could show its might in Jeddah next week, the 42-year-old driver added:
“I think it’s going to be interesting.
“Very different circuit characteristics [in Jeddah].
“This year’s car we only tested [in Bahrain] in winter and now in the first race so it’s going to be the first comparison on a different track.
“More or less apart from Aston I think the the strengths of the cars are very similar to last year.
“Ferrari second fastest. It was second fastest last year [in Bahrain] as well [but] Leclerc’s battery last year prevented a podium from them and this year they got the podium.
“So in Saudi, it was more Aston and Mercedes a little bit ahead of Ferrari. So let’s see if for us and for Mercedes we are a little bit stronger.”