Aston Martin had a much better start to the season than many expected. Fernando Alonso scored 6 podiums in the first 8 races.
However, something changed since the Austrian Grand Prix, as in the last 10 races, the Spanish driver has only been on the podium once.
The United States Grand Prix did not look like it was going to be an exception as Friday and Saturday proved to be a disaster, but on Sunday the Aston drivers proved otherwise.
Starting the race with both cars from the pits due to set-up and spec changes, Alonso and Stroll showed what they are capable of with a good car, as they had an excellent pace and managed to get into the points.
After many obstacles in the second half of the season, Silvertsone had finally got the car back on track. However, luck was not on their side as the grid’s oldest driver was forced to retire the car on lap 51 due to floor damage.
Despite this, Alonso described it as a super race and was happy with the pace considering they were nowhere the previous couple of days.
“Yeah, it was a super race for us, great comeback, a lot of pace in the car. Starting from the pit lane and we were aiming to finish 8th, so this was a very good race for us.
“Unfortunately we had to retire the car with some damage that we picked up on the floor apparently.
“It is painful because the whole weekend we were lacking pace and that was not good. In the race today we had a lot of pace but we still have to retire. Zero points — it hurts — but nothing we can do.
Photo credit: Juan Gutiérrez P. | IG @juan_guti
The Circuit of the Americas is a circuit known for being “bumpy” which has continually damaged cars in the top category. However, it seems that the kerbs were responsible for the damage suffered by the driver of car number 14.
When questioned about the updates to the car, the two-time champion said it is something that takes time to understand and joked that once they get it right, they won’t share it with the press.
“That will take days and even when we understand eventually we will not tell you (laughs).”
The 42-year-old also spoke about the team’s chosen car specifications for the race in Austin and commented that there wasn’t really a preference between the drivers, and that they really just wanted to gather as much information as they could for the team. Alonso went with the older-spec package, Stroll with the new one.
“No, I think it was 50-50, so the team decides, they asked the drivers as well, we didn’t have any preference we just want to help the team to gather as much data as possible in today’s race.”
Despite a second half of the season in which the Silverstone team has left much to be desired, Fernando Alonso is in fourth place in the championship, just 18 points behind Lewis Hamilton, so he still has an outside chance of finishing third in the Drivers’ World Championship. Aston Martin also dropped to 5th in the Constructors’ Championship last weekend.
