Back in the points at Zandvoort, Fernando Alonso notes Aston Martin’s progress but warns that several weaknesses remain to be fixed.
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Fernando Alonso returned to the points at the Dutch Grand Prix by finishing ninth at Zandvoort. An encouraging result for Aston Martin, who had not scored any points since the Spaniard’s tenth place in Monaco.
This performance comes as the British team had its most complete upgrade package. After the novelties introduced on the chassis in Hungary, Aston Martin brought several new parts to the Netherlands, while Honda debuted an upgrade to its power unit there.
Despite these advances and the two points collected, Alonso refuses to get carried away. The two-time world champion believes that the competitiveness of the AMR26 will remain highly dependent on the characteristics of each circuit.
Alonso makes a bit more history in F1
At 45 years old, Alonso also delivered a particularly rare performance. He became the first driver of that age to score points in Formula 1 since Graham Hill at the 1974 Swedish Grand Prix.
The Spaniard is now part of a very exclusive group of only 14 drivers who have scored at least one world championship point after their 45th birthday. But true to his approach, Alonso focused more on his car’s performance than on this statistic.
After a difficult qualifying ending in Q1, his climb to ninth place is nevertheless a reward he considers deserved.
“I think we scored a point in Monaco with nine retirements, and here we scored two with Max’s retirement [Verstappen], so I think it was well deserved.”
Aston Martin progresses mainly on the chassis side
Alonso primarily notes a noticeable improvement in the AMR26’s chassis. Aston Martin had already introduced a significant package in Hungary before using the summer break to analyze data and better understand its functioning.
Several new parts were then added at Zandvoort. According to Alonso, this combination now allows the team to better exploit its car and especially optimize its ride height.
“I think it was a new step forward, especially on the chassis side. We brought four or five elements here, and the Budapest package was also better understood during the break.”
“I think we are now optimizing the chassis height and can extract the maximum from it.”
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These improvements could allow Aston Martin to fight more regularly for the last points-paying positions, provided the circuit characteristics suit the AMR26.
The Honda engine remains a source of concern
The assessment is much more mixed regarding the Honda power unit. An upgrade to the Japanese engine was used for the first time in competition at Zandvoort, but Alonso does not yet want to claim it provided a real power gain.
The problem is not only about pure performance. Aston Martin still suffers from difficulties related to engine behavior, especially during downshifts and in managing engine braking entering corners.
“Regarding the engine, it’s more difficult. I don’t think we can clearly say if we have more power or not.”
“In terms of behavior, it was a difficult weekend. We still have problems with downshifts and with engine braking from one corner to another, so it was complicated in that regard.”
These difficulties had already been highlighted by Lance Stroll during the weekend, with the Canadian also feeling that the chassis had improved more than the power unit.
Alonso expects nothing at Monza
Aston Martin’s main weakness remains its performance on the straights. A characteristic that leads Alonso to be particularly cautious ahead of the next round of the season at Monza.
The Italian circuit, with its long full-throttle sections and its emphasis on top speed, is precisely likely to expose the current shortcomings of the AMR26.
“It will depend on the circuits and the number of straights. I don’t expect us to be competitive at Monza, but maybe on other circuits we will have a new opportunity to score points.”
So the ninth place at Zandvoort is more of an encouraging signal than a real turning point for Aston Martin. While the progress made on the chassis now seems tangible, Alonso still expects more from Honda before considering his team a regular points contender.
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