Fernando Alonso’s performance at the Suzuka Grand Prix stands out as a career highlight. The Aston Martin driver’s strategic prowess and tire choice underscored a weekend he ranks among his most accomplished.
“I believe it’s one of my best races or weekends,” Alonso stated. “I think it was very comprehensive and strong, very solid. From the free practice sessions to the race, it might be the best of last year, or even in my top 5 career moments. But it will go completely unnoticed.”
The Spaniard explains that he had planned to use the soft tires in the race since the weekend began, and this posed no issue: “We had no other tire available, so we chose our race since Thursday.”
“We thought it was the best strategy, to have soft, medium, and hard tires for the race, and that’s what we did. I didn’t feel a big penalty in the first stint on softs, it was more or less okay, so yes, I think it wasn’t too bad.”
Is Aston Martin isolated in fifth place?
He admits to having been afraid of not keeping his sixth place but is glad to have achieved it: “Obviously, I wasn’t entirely confident, because you never know what the pace of the others will be at the end of the race.”
“But yes, I felt connected with the car, I think it was my best weekend, I don’t know, in my top 5. I think finishing fifth in qualifying and sixth in the race is completely out of position, so yes, I am very proud.”
According to Alonso, Aston Martin is now the last team in the group of the top five teams. He believes it lags behind Mercedes, although he qualified ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, and placed himself between the two Brits in the race.
“I think we are the fifth fastest team with a good margin to the fourth and the sixth. I think there’s no way to compare us to Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes, which is why finishing fifth and sixth is quite unusual.”
“We did it in Australia too, we finished sixth, here sixth, and I believe fifth in Jeddah, so we are executing races very well. Other drivers are experimenting a bit with strategy and other things, and we are taking advantage of that, but we need to improve the pace, that’s for sure.”
Alonso’s Stellar Suzuka: Among Career Best Races. Alonso’s Stellar Suzuka: Among Career Best Races
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