Alonso With Damning Verdict For Aston Martin: 'Still Fifth Fastest Team'

Tuesday, 09 April 2024 at 16:45

Fernando Alonso, who finished sixth during the most recent race at Suzuka Circuit, suggested his race result was much better than where Aston Martin "should be."

The 42-year-old Aston Martin driver delivered a great result for his team during the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix. He finished the race in P6, ahead of a few drivers in cars that he believed were much faster.

It all began with an incredible qualifying lap. After starting from P5 on the grid, Alonso managed to maintain his position, only losing one place to Charles Leclerc throughout the whole race.

Alonso told the media after the race that it was one of the best performances of his career. With the fifth fastest car on the grid, he should have been three positions behind, but he managed to outperform Oscar Piastri, George Russell, and Lewis Hamilton. He said:

"I think we were a little bit better than the last few events, but we still need some pace compared to McLaren and Mercedes. Red Bull and Ferrari, they are in another league."

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"We're still I think [the] fifth fastest team, which [means] normally we should be P9 and P10, and we were P5 in qualifying and P6 in the race, so we definitely maximized the points available and [I'm] happy for that, but we need to still improve the car."

While Aston Martin doesn't have the fastest car, the 42-year-old praised his team for nailing all of the remaining components needed for great results. He added:

"The team for sure is doing everything right on Sundays – strategy-wise, the start is mega, pit stops today were amazing, and thanks to all those small factors we are finishing sixth instead of ninth or wherever."

"I love to see that but, as I said, fundamentally the pace of the car is still not as good as we want it and we want to improve that."