Fernando Alonso reflects on his challenging season with Aston Martin, battling physical pain and struggling with the AMR24’s performance.
Fernando Alonso revealed the extent of the difficulties he faced this year with Aston Martin F1. The two-time world champion expressed frustration over an injury to his shoulder caused by his car and admitted to envying drivers from other teams.
“It depends a bit on the car you had,” Alonso said. “If you had a McLaren, a Ferrari, or a Mercedes, it’s much less difficult because the car doesn’t bounce, the car is fast. And if you have our car, you injure your shoulder and have a hurt shoulder for six races.”
The Brazilian Grand Prix and the bumps of Interlagos were a tough moment for Alonso, who aggravated his injury, which he had to manage: “You take a painkiller and go back to it. And it has nothing to do with age. When I’m not feeling well physically, people immediately think ‘he’s 43.’”
“But another time, the Parc Fermé looked like The Walking Dead, and I was fine, I was much fitter than them. So it’s really about small injuries, especially if the car doesn’t let you sit comfortably in your seat.”
Sometimes frustrated with his team, the Spaniard remains confident in himself: “I don’t need more confidence. I know that when I have a normal car, I’ll be as high as possible. We’ve known for a few months what we did wrong this year.”
“We now need to apply these lessons to next year’s car. But 2026 is still the big news for many teams, apart from McLaren and Ferrari, who have superior cars. It will be difficult for everyone to close those gaps.”
“I think we have few options for 2025. We need to think a little further ahead. Even today, Williams was much superior to us, Haas was in another category, Alpine in another. RB should have also been ahead of us. So we were only better than Sauber.”
Alonso’s confidence comes from his belief that he remains in top form and highly motivated: “I always give my best, even in these last races where we had no major goals in the end.”
“It seems that, from the outside, people are always waiting for me to get older, but that day hasn’t come yet. When I start from 14th, I think I’ll finish in the points. When I start from 8th, I think I’ll be on the podium. I’m still hungry.”
However, the 24 races of the season have taken their toll on the Spanish driver’s fitness, and he admits that there were times he wished he could have spent more time at home over the months: “We all learned lessons this year about how to travel.”
“Like that triple-header in Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi, from one place to another, then an event in Saudi Arabia between races. Next year, I’ll try to go home, even if it’s for 48 or 72 hours. So, small adjustments to arrive in better shape next year.”
Asked about McLaren F1’s constructors’ title, Alonso is pleased to have played a part in bringing Andrea Stella, the team’s director, to Woking: “I’m a very good friend of Andrea. You know, in a way, I brought him to McLaren when I joined McLaren.”
“So I told him before the race that what Abu Dhabi took from us in 2010, I hoped he’d get back, and that’s what happened. I’m happy for him, he deserved it. He’s a very smart man. And as I said, McLaren is now an example for many things.”
Alonso reveals that he is still close to McLaren’s CEO and jokes about playing a role in McLaren’s title by convincing Stella to join the team nearly a decade ago: “Yes. I should take a part of Andrea’s bonus. And Zak’s too!”
“Zak is also a very good friend of mine. We’ll spend a few days together in the coming weeks to have fun on a circuit. We’ve actually rented a circuit. So you know, I’m a good friend of Zak.”
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Alonso’s Tough Season: Pain, Persistence, and the AMR24 Alonso’s Tough Season: Pain, Persistence, and the AMR24
