Alonso never doubted himself amid Aston Martin struggles

Fernando Alonso says his sudden Q3 efficiency within the Qatar Grand Prix exhibits why he was proper by no means to doubt himself amid Aston Martin’s current struggles.

The Spaniard, who’s Components 1’s oldest driver, has endured a difficult run of races off the again of his squad’s backward step with a brand new flooring that arrived at the USA Grand Prix.

Its difficulties have left it because the eighth or ninth quickest workforce at instances, with considerations it might even slip behind the Sauber squad that has not too long ago delivered a step ahead with a brand new flooring.

However after a stronger-than-expected efficiency for Aston Martin in Qatar in comparison with current outings, Alonso says that the result’s proof that current difficulties have been extra in regards to the automotive than the driving.

“Clearly you’ll want to really feel aggressive sometimes, and I haven’t got doubts about myself,” he stated.

“I am in all probability overconfident in my skills [rather] than needing a end result. However, yeah, it is good to have end result, and I assume for the workforce as properly, that they’ll nonetheless belief after we are aggressive.

“The automotive is responding properly, when we aren’t aggressive and preventing for Q1 it isn’t that I turned sluggish from day to nighttime. It is that the automotive is struggling, actually. So our feedback should be trusted.”

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24

Photograph by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Photographs

Alonso stated there was no apparent rationalization as to why Aston Martin had unleashed extra tempo in qualifying at Qatar, however suspects it could possibly be one thing to do with the AMR24 being higher suited to the gentle tyres.

“It was sudden, completely sudden,” he stated. “We have been struggling for the final 4 or 5 months. Even [getting] out of Q1 is a problem now.

“And this weekend we appear somewhat bit extra aggressive, however particularly now in tonight’s qualifying, I believe we did some set-up modifications because the dash race, and I believe the automotive was higher now. Additionally, the crimson tyre did assist the general grip of the automotive.

“[In sprint qualifying], we weren’t clearly, we had been eradicated, and we solely tried the medium in SQ1, SQ2. So I believe in quali, with the crimson tyre, you realize, straight from Q1 we had been aggressive.”

Aston Martin has been making an attempt to resolve why it has not made progress with its automotive this season and has been experimenting with flooring philosophies in a bid to assist its understanding.

The Budapest-concept flooring it’s utilizing in Qatar is best suited to Losail’s high-speed calls for, and Alonso thinks it was important for the squad to point out a minimum of some indicators of promise earlier than the tip of the marketing campaign.

“It does assist for positive as a result of the workforce is rarely stopping working, even after we are ranging from the again,” he stated.

“There are plenty of research, plenty of studying, and plenty of classes that we’re taking.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24

Photograph by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Photographs

“After the [sprint] race, we had been extra aggressive than earlier grand prix, however not in a contented place. We had been scuffling with the low-speed understeer, high-speed oversteer.

“So the automotive was probably not collectively when it comes to low to excessive velocity. So we made some set-up modifications.

“Now the automotive was higher. It exhibits that there’s all the time a continuing work in trying to find efficiency.

“If you’re preventing for podium or if you’re preventing for going out of Q1, I believe the workforce is all the time motivated. So it isn’t that we want the end result to spice up everybody, however it’ll all the time assist to be aggressive sometimes.”

Images from Qatar GP Dash Race & Qualifying

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