Fernando Alonso jokingly downplays Aston Martin’s 2024 season, highlighting key developments and a positive outlook for the future.
There were many questions today in Qatar, mostly with a negative tone towards Fernando Alonso, particularly about the difficult year and poor end to the season for Aston Martin F1.
After a series of similar questions, the Spaniard defended his team sarcastically and ended on a more positive note.
He believes that 2025 will not be a lost transition year or anything of the sort, and insists that 2024 has not been as negative as some might think.
“We’ve completed buildings 2 and 3 at the Silverstone factory, we’re opening the new wind tunnel, and we have Adrian Newey. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad year after all,” he said, with the irony of his inspired days.
“There are highs and lows for everyone, but we didn’t manage to improve the car throughout the year as we wanted. We started strong, but now it’s difficult for us to make it into Q3. Everything that’s happened has taught us lessons that we will apply to the 2025 car. That’s the most positive thing from the second half of the season. We know where the difficulties lie.”
“After the summer break, we worked well as a team, and we now clearly understand where the weaknesses are and how we should apply what we’ve learned to the 2025 car.”
“On Sunday, already on the way to the grid in Las Vegas, the car felt more alive than the rest of the weekend, and I left the race thinking that I really wanted to get back on track. Tomorrow, during Free Practice, I’ll be happy and eager to get back in the car.”
How does he feel about working with a team that continues to lose ground?
“It has indeed been difficult, but I enjoyed it when the car was faster, at the start, and even now we are trying to draw conclusions to improve next year. When you start strong and finish with less positive feelings, you think the season has been mediocre, and in the end, it seems like you’re finishing in good shape. Points are counted at the end, and right now, there are teams that have done a better job, but they’re far behind us. It’s not where we want to be, but there are only four teams ahead of us and still many behind. We also need to look at the bigger picture, not just the end.”
Expectations have still been disappointed. Maybe they were too high?
“I don’t think expectations were too high. After 2023, people expected us to aim for higher levels. We didn’t meet expectations, but we’re not ashamed of it. The improvements didn’t come throughout the year, but the Silverstone facilities were completed, and that’s the foundation for future work.”
Before arriving in Qatar, he congratulated Max Verstappen on his 4th title and stated he wanted to beat him, perhaps in 2026. Does he really believe it?
“I’d love to try to be in a position to fight for the World Championship, but in 2025, we won’t be able to do that. But yes, I hope that will be the case in 2026. Max has had no weakness when the car was good, and even when it wasn’t, you still think things could have been made a little more difficult than they were.”
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Alonso Defends Aston Martin’s 2024, Sees Progress Ahead
Alonso Defends Aston Martin’s 2024, Sees Progress Ahead
