After only qualifying P14 for the United States Sprint, Fernando Alonso hauled the Aston Martin in Q3 for Sunday’s race. The two-time World Champion has qualified P8 for the Grand Prix.
When asked where the Aston Martin improved from Sprint Qualifying, Alonso quickly stated that the improvement happened all over the lap.
He further explained that they experimented with the set-up both after FP1 as well as before today’s qualifying with Parc Ferme opening up.
“In the corners, the straights. We are more or less flat out, always.
“So yeah, I think we experimented a little bit with the set-up. Yesterday after FP1, we made further changes now before qualifying.
“So, it seems that the car is performing a little bit better now, which is encouraging.
“But it’s still a challenging car to drive and to extract the maximum. So, I think we still have to work a little bit more towards Mexico.”
The Aston Martin driver also stated that it is natural to tweak the set-up as much as they can, particularly when they have brought upgrades to a Sprint weekend. The lack of practice hinders any team’s ability to properly optimise their package.
“It’s always the same thing when you bring upgrades to a sprint weekend. There is a little bit of not optimising everything. I think it’s the same for everybody.
“But we need to find a better window in Mexico, for sure.”
Alonso was also asked whether the car feels better to drive, with the new upgrades. He stated that it was not a comfortable lap, specifically in COTA, but he is satisfied with the performance of the car, with the upgrades.
“It was difficult.
“Track to track, it keeps changing. I think here, especially with the new asphalt, it feels very grippy and feels good. In some of the old patches, it feels a little bit more tricky. It’s bumpy, very bumpy in the first sector.
”So, it’s not a comfortable lap, let’s say, with the bumps and the change of grip level.
“But, I’m more or less happy with today’s performance.”
However, he remains weary to draw early conclusions for the performance of their upgrades.
A complete lack of race pace in the Sprint saw him finish 18th, leading to massive changes to the car.
“All the changes after the Sprint. Three hours ago we were not very happy with the Sprint race. So, I think we have to wait for tomorrow.
“Some very fast cars behind us. Pérez P10, the two Haas’ that were very fast this morning. Lewis as well, coming from behind.
“So, I think the points are a little bit more challenging than normal tomorrow.
“Let’s make some conclusions after three or four Grands Prix.”
