Fernando Alonso uses Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to defend Aston Martin
Max Verstappen wins third consecutive Formula One world championship
Aston Martin’s recent drop-off in Grand Prix results is not so much down to the team itself, but because of improvements from the likes of Mercedes and Haas. That’s according to Fernando Alonso who has enjoyed a solid season for the Silverstone-based team in the Autumn years of his F1 career.
The double world champion is currently fourth in the drivers’ championship having amassed 183 points so far this campaign. His return has included seven podium finishes including six out of the first eight races.
But despite finishing as runner-up in the Netherlands GP on August 27, the Spaniard has not been able to reach the same heights in the four races since, with his best performance coming in a sixth-placed finish in Qatar last time out.
The same cannot be said of team-mate Lance Stroll, son of the team’s billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll, who has only managed to put 47 points on the board all season.
It leaves Aston Martin fourth in the constructors championship with both Mercedes and Ferrari ahead of them, as well as runaway champions Red Bull Racing.
But when it was put to Alonso that his team had perhaps made some errors throughout the campaign when developing their car that may have left the door open for Mercedes and Ferarri, the 42-year-old was keen to deflect the attention onto the progress of other teams.
Speaking to DAZN on Thursday, he said: “We have some improvements here, but Haas has a new car and Mercedes also has new things. We’ll have to see how it goes.
“When we talk about Aston Martin, it seems that the others just put the car on a trailer and come to the next race and that only we are developing.”
Alonso could still finish second in the drivers’ championship this season, making a mockery of claims at the start of the year that he was well past his best.
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Although the former Ferrari star has focused on the improvements implemented by rival teams, Aston Martin themselves have admitted to making some “mistakes” with upgrades since their principal driver made such a superb start to the season.
In Austin, Haas will implement their ‘B car’ upgrade and have even rented a workshop out in Texas to fit all of their new upgrades, one of which is designed to fix an ongoing problem with tyre wear.
Haas team boss Gunther Steiner said: “If what the wind tunnel data promises happens, I’ll sign for it immediately. But the race track is often different.”
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