Despite his elimination in Q1 at Zandvoort, Fernando Alonso remains optimistic. The Spaniard believes that Aston Martin has reduced its gap to the leaders by three seconds in just two races.
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At first glance, Fernando Alonso’s 18th place on the grid for the Dutch Grand Prix does not seem to be a major step forward for Aston Martin. However, the two-time world champion sees behind this result a particularly encouraging sign.
The British team recently completed an important development phase of the AMR26. The chassis upgrades appeared during the Hungarian Grand Prix, while Zandvoort marks the competitive debut of the new evolution of the Honda engine.
Alonso certainly did not manage to reach Q2, but he missed it by only 0.098 seconds to Alex Albon. Above all, the Spaniard prefers to observe the evolution of his gap compared to the fastest cars.
Three seconds gained in just two races
In Q1 at Zandvoort, Alonso finished 1.050 seconds behind Oscar Piastri, who set the best time of the session. Two races earlier, at Spa-Francorchamps, the Aston Martin was still 4.137 seconds behind Lando Norris at the same stage of qualifying.
This represents a reduction of the gap by 3.087 seconds, although the comparison must be qualified by the much longer Spa circuit.
Alonso nevertheless prefers to focus on the scale of the progress made.
“In Budapest, we were in Q2 and here, we were about a tenth away from getting there,” he explains. “The gap with the leader, Piastri, was 1.050 seconds in Q1. We used to be on average 4.5 seconds behind the leader, so we have gained three seconds in two races.”
A development that particularly impresses the Spanish driver.
“It’s incredible. Everything is working as planned, but it’s a tough sport and you always have to keep improving.”
Alonso now awaits a new step from Honda
While the chassis upgrades seem to have paid off, Aston Martin still has significant room for improvement on the side of its Honda power unit.
Alonso believes that the main progress will now have to be made at the factory, especially on the operation and electronic management of the engine.
“Here, on the circuit, we can’t do much to improve the behavior. We have to rely on major changes at the factory or at the software level.”
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These modifications depend directly on Honda and its Japanese factory in Sakura, which means they cannot be implemented immediately.
“It has to come from Japan, so it can’t happen overnight. It’s probably more towards Monza that we need to find a new step.”
Aston Martin thus hopes to continue gradually reducing its deficit after the progress observed since Budapest.
A performing chassis, but a problem on the straights
Alonso is also satisfied with the performance of the AMR26 chassis. According to him, this quality could allow Aston Martin to be more competitive in long stints than it has been in qualifying.
“Normally, we are a bit better in the race because our chassis is very good. When others have more worn tires, we can rely more on the grip generated by the chassis and less on that of the tires.”
The problem is that Zandvoort remains a particularly difficult circuit for overtaking. The Aston Martin’s lack of straight-line speed is therefore likely to make any comeback complicated.
“We can do a better job, but at the same time, we can’t overtake on the straights. So we are in a difficult position.”
Stroll much less enthusiastic
Alonso’s optimism contrasts with the words of Lance Stroll. The Canadian, only 19th on the grid, was much more reserved about the benefits of the latest upgrades.
Asked about the gain obtained, Stroll considers it “not very significant” and that there may be “a small improvement, but far from enough”.
However, both drivers agree on one point: the AMR26 chassis now seems to be a much more solid base. To continue its climb up the ranks, Aston Martin now awaits Honda to allow it to take the next step.
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