Ferrari should not be trailing Aston Martin in the constructors’ championship given how competitive their car is, says Fernando Alonso.
Carlos Sainz Jnr will start today’s Italian Grand Prix from pole position. Charles Leclerc will line up third, seven places ahead the first of Aston Martin, driven by Alonso.Ferrari trail Aston Martin by 14 points with 9 rounds remaining. But Alonso, who has scored all seven of his team’s podium finishes this year, says his former team should easily be ahead.
“Ferrari, they’ve been very strong this year and they are still behind us in the constructors’ championship and it is difficult to explain the reason why,” he told media including RaceFans after yesterday’s qualifying session at Monza.
“They’ve been in the first row of the grid in Bahrain, first row of the grid in Saudi, pole position in Baku. They have an incredible car – pole position here – and they are still behind.
“Our strength has been always to score points – in the good weekends, in the bad weekends. It seems that this is a bad weekend, so let’s keep our focus to score points every Sunday.”
Both Aston Martin drivers recorded their lowest qualifying positions so far this season at Monza. Alonso’s team mate Lance Stroll will start last.
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The long straights and few corners of the fastest circuit on the calendar does not suit the Aston Martin, said Alonso. “I think the track characteristics for sure are not friendly with our car,” he explained.
“It’s a very efficient track in terms aerodynamics. Drag level is very important here: Only six corners, the rest is just flat-out on the straights.
“We knew that it could be a tough weekend and we confirmed that feeling in FP1 and FP2 and this morning. Estimations in qualifying was between P9 and P12 and we are right in the middle, P10, so no surprises. But it’s going to be a tough race tomorrow and we have to still score points even if it’s a difficult one.”
He said the team’s lack of competitiveness this weekend came as no surprise and they expect to be stronger when the championship moves on to more typical circuits.
“I think in Bahrain we found out our weakness in the car and it’s still the same in Monza,” said Alonso. “We knew that could face some issues.
“The remaining of the races in the calendar, maybe are a little bit more friendly with our characteristics. So maybe after this one we should be a little more optimistic.”
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Alonso admitted he could have set a quicker lap time had he had the benefit of a tow from a driver ahead of him, but does not believe he would have qualified any higher than he did.
“I was not happy to be alone [on the track] at first,” he said. “But now when I saw that we are four or five tenths to P9, that was impossible with any tow you can take. So we are in the position we deserve.
“We need to understand how to make the car stronger in this type of tracks. Williams is a clear example in these kind of tracks they are outstanding, so we need to see what we can improve.”
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Pibou
3rd September 2023, 9:40
Alonso cannot be more right, with its quite only contribution to Aston points, the team is above the addition of two talents one considered exceptional in a team with has no doubt a superior machine. The quote by Alonso is for me one of the most interesting comment made for a while by the circus. Ferrari should be a close second because of the weak Perez and his two drivers on par with Alonso.
Sviat
3rd September 2023, 10:20
The Aston Martin management has to understand that Alonso cannot win the WCC positions single-handedly in this very unstable car. One race, it’s fast enough for a podium. Another race, and it’s barely in the top 10.
If the car was good for a podium in every race, getting into top 3 in WCC would be quite possible. But it’s not.
Currently, Alonso has 83.5% of what Ferrari has. But today Aston Martin will likely drop to fourth in the WCC. Awaiting fifth in a few races, as both McLarens are still faster, race after race.
melanos
3rd September 2023, 16:11
Clone yourself, Fred, and disguise your clone as Lance. And send the real Lance on a long holiday.