After nine Grands Prix, the chaotic Austrian Grand Prix was the third occasion on which Fernando Alonso failed to finish on the podium, as Aston Martin’s pace was poor in comparison to the Ferraris and Lando Norris’ McLaren.
The Spaniard, Kevin Magnussen and Finnish driver Valteri Bottas opted for an alternative strategy by choosing to start the race on hard tyres, which would allow them to go further in the first stint, but smoke from Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas caused a Virtual Safety Car on lap 14, rendering Bottas and Alonso’s strategy obsolete and losing their planned advantage.
“We try something different, an alternative strategy starting on the on the Hard tyre and obviously that Virtual Safety Car didn’t help our our hopes of extending the first stint,” commented the 41-year-old (who will be 42 this month), adding that he believed each team finished where it deserved to:
“The race was neutralised from that point on and we all had the same tyres in the end. We more or less finished in the place we deserve. We were six fastest and kept sixth (fifth after Sainz’s penalty).”
Photo credit: Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team
As we know, not all cars are good on all tracks, due to the different characteristics of each circuit, and the driver of car 14 on the grid believes this is the reason why the Silverstone team did not finish on the podium, explaining that there are weaknesses and strengths that teams carry from one season to the next.
“So there are some similarities from season to season that we seem to carry over in certain circuits. I think it’s a little bit track specific that we are not good here, that doesn’t mean that we need to accept that – we cannot come next year and be slow again.”
Finding themselves in a constant battle with Ferrari and Mercedes for second place in the constructors’ championship, Fernando Alonso added that it is the team’s responsibility to understand why the car struggles at some circuits more than others.
After a very strong start to the year, the AMR23 has faltered somewhat in Spain and Austria going by their high standards at the other venues this season.
“But between the track specifics and the upgrade that Ferrari and McLaren brought here, maybe we lost a little bit of pace. It’s more up to us to understand why [at] certain circuits we seem to struggle more than the others.”
