Fernando Alonso has explained his decision to closely inspect the rear diffuser of the McLaren MCL38 in Parc Ferme following the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix.
Lando Norris won on Sunday at Zandvoort by an impressive 22s margin over the rest of the field, in a heavily upgraded McLaren machine.
After the race, he hailed the MCL38 as “the best car on average” across the season and his win prompted speculation McLaren will be the team to beat across the rest of the season.
Alonso took the opportunity to get up close and personal with the rear of Oscar Piastri’s McLaren in parc ferme upon the Dutch GP’s conclusion and explained his motivations to Spanish broadcaster Dazn.
“It’s the car that dominates the championship right now,” he said.
“You always try to take inspiration from the cars that are winning, so we have a lot to learn from them.”
Alonso and Aston Martin rightly need to learn from the likes of McLaren.
In 2023, McLaren started miserably, whereas Alonso scored six podiums across the first eight rounds of the campaign.
However, McLaren completed a mid-season turnaround to become regular podium contenders, with Aston Martin eventually slipping to fifth in the Constructors’ standings.
This year, McLaren has progressed to be a regular contender for wins and after the Dutch GP at Zandvoort, Alonso reckoned Aston Martin was the seventh-fastest team.
“[Things] didn’t change much after the break,” the Spaniard said post-race at Zandvoort.
“Budapest, we were fighting with Yuki [Tsunoda] until the last lap.
“In Spa, I think Williams and Alpine, they were faster than us, but we beat them on the strategy and here, I think Alpine and Haas, they were faster than us.
“So overall, I think we are 7th fastest team and we need to get better for sure.”
Aston Martin sits fifth in the Constructors’ standings with 74 points, 40 ahead of sixth-placed RB.
Alonso qualified seventh and finished 10th at Zandvoort, but admits the team cannot be complacent even with its margin over the rest of the midfield in the Championship table.
“Today, we were P10, so yeah, nothing new, but still obviously disappointed for us and we need to get better,” he said.
“We need to understand the car better, we need to bring some new parts for the next races and try to be, as we started the year, we were not fighting with the top four teams, but we were a couple of tenths clear of the midfield and we were in that middle position and we want to be back by Abu Dhabi, by the last race.”
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