Fernando Alonso doesn’t expect the Aston Martin Formula 1 team to enact a quick turnaround to the regression in competitiveness it has experienced in recent races.
Aston Martin started last season as Red Bull’s closest rival and a regular podium scorer, but the team was unable to sustain that momentum and slipped to fifth place.
Despite introducing the most upgrades among all F1 teams in 2024, Aston Martin has not reduced the gap to the leading quartet and instead drifted back towards RB.
Alonso has not advanced past Q1 or scored points since Aston Martin brought a sizeable update package to Imola, with suspicions the AMR24 is now harder to drive.
The Spaniard has asserted that recent rounds have been a “wake-up call” and a “crucial” experience as the Silverstone-based squad prepares for the 2025 regulations.
“These two weekends have been crucial to understand our weaknesses, to understand the car, to improve,” Alonso said after finishing outside the points in Monaco.
“In the difficulties, you always draw more conclusions than in the victories, so we are learning a lot I think for the rest of the year, 2025 and 2026.
“These two races have been a big wake-up call and it will be very good for us.”
The two-time champion doesn’t expect a fast turnaround, explaining that it will take “a few races” for his team to bring his next notable performance upgrade package.
Nonetheless, Alonso also revealed that Aston Martin will keep bringing small innovations to almost each race weekend, including Canada and his home race in Spain.
“[We had] some doubts after Imola and in Monaco that we didn’t manage to go fast, and we have to try to change this trend,” he added.
“It will take us a few races until we introduce a significant improvement in the car, but until then we have to give everything and we have to improve on the track to get the results.
“There will be better days, worse days and we have to be united.”
Alonso rued Aston Martin going “back to the midfield instead of the front runners” but remains hopeful that an effective upgrade on his AMR24 can transform matters.
“All in all difficult weekend, obviously you learn a lot from the difficulties so that’s what we try to do but tough one…
[It’s] obviously not ideal, the current form, we seem to go back to the midfield instead of looking at the front runners.
“But these things can change quickly, we saw with many other examples how quickly things can change, a good upgrade on the car and you can move five or six positions, so that is what we want to do on the next one and we work hard on that direction.”
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