Fernando Alonso never had any “doubts” about his own level in Formula 1 amid Aston Martin‘s struggles as he qualified inside the top 10 for the Qatar Grand Prix.
The Spaniard has endured a tough run as of late, going four races without scoring a single point.
Heading into the latest race weekend in Qatar, Alonso showed signs of improvement after an 11th-placed finish in the Sprint.
However, the British marque didn’t expect the 43-year-old to make Q3 later on, as Alonso eventually qualified in eighth place for the main Grand Prix on Sunday.
Speaking to the media afterwards, the two-time F1 World Champion expressed that his credence in his own talent had never wavered despite his tough run.
“Obviously you need to feel competitive from time to time, and I don’t have doubts about myself,” Alonso said.
“I’m probably overconfident in my abilities [rather] than needing a result.
“But, yeah, it’s good to have a good result, and I guess for the team as well, that they can still trust when we are competitive.
“The car is responding well, when we are not competitive and fighting for Q1 it’s not that I became slow from day to night.
“It’s that the car is struggling, really, so our comments have to be trusted.”
Aston Martin Qatar pace ‘totally unexpected’
Alonso admitted he was at a loss to explain the sudden but welcome surge in competitiveness that Aston Martin’s AMR24 showed at the Lusail International Circuit.
“It was unexpected, totally unexpected, we’ve been struggling for the last four or five months, even [getting] out of Q1 is a challenge now,” he added.
However, Alonso implied his Aston Martin car performed better on the Soft compound rather than the Medium mandated in the first two stages of Sprint Qualifying.
He added: “And this weekend we seem a little bit more competitive.
“But especially now in tonight’s qualifying, I think we did some set-up changes since the sprint race, and I think the car was better now.
“Also, the red tyre did help the overall grip of the car.
“[In Sprint qualifying], we were eliminated, and we only tried the medium in SQ1, SQ2.
“So I think in quali, with the red tyre, straight from Q1 we were competitive.”
Heading into the penultimate race of the 2024 F1 season, there is very little for Aston Martin to play for with the team likely to end up in fifth place in the standings.
Yet, for Alonso, the importance of finishing on a high means a lot.
“It does help for sure because the team is never stopping working, even when we are starting from the back,” he said.
“There are a lot of studies, a lot of learning, and a lot of lessons that we are taking.
“If you are fighting for podium or if you are fighting for going out of Q1, I think the team is always motivated.
“So it’s not that we need the result to boost everyone, but it will always help to be competitive from time to time.”
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