Modern F1 Cars Quicker Below Limit, Alonso Explains

Alonso Reveals Why F1 Drivers Now Push Only to 90%

Fernando Alonso believes F1 drivers avoid pushing limits, as modern cars are faster when driven below their full potential.

The safety car hasn’t been deployed on a Sunday for nine races, and Fernando Alonso has a theory as to why. According to the Aston Martin F1 driver, drivers don’t often push to the limit during races because modern cars are faster when driven below their full potential.

“These cars aren’t easy to drive, but I think the problem is also extracting 100%,” Alonso said. “Sometimes when you drive at 90%, you’re faster because you’re not pushing the car to its limit. You’re not overextending, which is where things fall apart. So, sometimes driving at 90% is quicker.”

The Spaniard argues that qualifying often produces more unpredictable results because this generation of cars and Pirelli tires can experience drastic performance changes depending on conditions and variations.

“Bakou is a very good example. I was 15th in Q1, with Lando’s issue. Otherwise, I would have started 16th in the Grand Prix and not made it to Q2. Seven minutes later, I put on another set of tires and was fifth in Q2. I gained 1.1 seconds. I drove the same way.”

“I was braking at the same spots. It was the same preparation for that lap, but I managed to gain 1.1 seconds. And some of us did the opposite: they were very fast in Q1 and very slow in Q2, and sometimes we can’t explain why we’re fast or slow at certain moments.”

“If you dig into the details and the unlimited number of sensors we have in the car, we can detect small differences when the car is slow. We put the car in different attitudes, maybe because it’s not handling well, and things like that.”

“That’s why, in races, since we’re all driving at 90%, managing tires, fuel economy, and all these factors, we don’t see too many issues, safety cars, or accidents.”

“The cars are more stable at this speed. It goes against a driver’s instinct, which is to put on new tires, go for qualifying, and push at 110% if possible. But with this car, it’s something we have to manage.”