2024 may have been one of the most underwhelming seasons of Fernando Alonso’s career. While he may not have stood on the podium this year, that was largely due to the disappointing performance of the AMR24. Despite the car limitations, the 43-year-old still managed to bring it into points for the majority of the season and comfortably placed the team 5th in the constructors.
The efforts of Alonso have him ranked P10 in our 2024 F1 Driver Rankings.
High expectations and disappointment
In 2023, the two-time F1 World Champion kicked off the season with three consecutive podium finishes, as he secured six in the first six races. Two more followed after the summer break.
His frequent podium appearances, combined with his P4 finish in the Drivers’ championship, meant that he came into the 2024 season with solid hopes.
Instead it seemed that the AMR24’s performance couldn’t keep up to its competition. Alonso only made one appearance in the top 5 this year in Saudi Arabia. This was also the same race that placed the team 5th in the Constructors’ Championship, a position they held on to through the rest of the year.
The 32-time race winner finished the season in P9 with a total of 70 points, beta of the rest behind the top four teams. A vast difference from his P4 finish last in 2023 where he earned a total of 206.
It truly has been a difficult season for Aston Martin, especially for a driver of his quality.
Season highlights
Despite never finishing above P5 this season, Alonso has shown moments of excellence.
His managed to shock everyone with two second row starts in Jeddah and Shanghai where he qualified P4 and P3 respectively.
The 2024 Canadian Grand Prix was another impressive drive from the Spaniard. After a series of disappointing races and leaving weekends without points, Montreal was a turning point as a he finished P6 that weekend in changeable conditions, profiting from a shocking event for Ferrari.
Alonso called it a “fantastic race for the team” with the teams double points finish.
His other P6 placements came at Suzuka and Azerbaijan.
Leading the team
It is to no surprise that Alonso has once again outshined his much younger teammate Lance Stroll.
In qualifying, the Spanish veteran showed off his experience and qualified ahead of his teammate 19 races out of the 24 race calendar. Despite the difficulties Alonso faced and Stroll’s improvement in the mid-season. Alonso still managed to outperform his teammate, beating him twelve times in succession from Hungary through to Abu Dhabi.
Qualifying wasn’t the only aspect Alonso beat Stroll in. In fact, the Spaniard outperformed the Canadian in every single area this year. Stroll finished the season P13 with a total of 24, 46 points and three places behind Alonso. The Canadian scored zero points after the summer break, while his legendary teammate helped the team grab a total of 21 points.
Alonso helped the team gain and maintain their lead ahead of the other midfield runners in the Constructors’ Championship, and he brought a car that shouldn’t have made the top 10 into the points a few times. The Spaniard’s constant efforts to squeeze every last drop of potential out of the car is very impressive.
The 2024 season has indeed been a tough one for the veteran. But with the highly anticipated arrivals of Newey and Cardile, Alonso will be hoping to fight for podiums in the seasons to come.
