Fernando Alonso’s passionate disposition during media duties for this weekend’s Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix continued with an ardent defence of Aston Martin, amid ongoing media speculation surrounding his future with the team.
The Spaniard has been at the subject of rumours regarding a potential move back to former stable Alpine, as the Silverstone-based squad continues to strive for improvment along with new engine manufacturer, Honda.
Aston’s setbacks have seen Alonso languishing at the back of the field, and leading to questions that the 44-year-old may opt for one last hurrah elsewhere, or indeed quit the sport.
Alonso had already talked vigorously about his own abilities as a driver during his obligatory media session at the Red Bull Ring on Thursday, and continued his passionate outlook when asked about the rumours of an impending Alpine return.
“I mean, there are always rumours, we’ve been very badly treated by the outside world,” the two-time World Champion told media, including Motorsport Week. “And it’s normal. We are underperforming, we are in a bad moment. And when summer break comes, there are always rumours.
“There are rumours in the top teams, there are rumours also in our case because we are underperforming. But as I said, my commitment with Aston Martin is beyond my driving time.
“I believe in this project and we have the right people. We have, obviously, the best of the best. With Adrian Newey [Team Principal, designer], we have Honda. We started with the back foot, yes, we understand that. But we are trying to put things in place as short as possible.”
‘An easy target’ – Fernando Alonso defends Aston Martin amid on-track woes
Aston Martin and Honda have both faced the proverbial music across the entirety of the season, when it became apparent prior to Round 1 in Melbourne that the AMR26 and the accompanying power unit would begin as an uncompetitive package.
Alonso has retained utmost patience and understanding during this time, and took aim at fans who have taken to social media to belittle the team’s issues.
“We are an easy target because we are at the back and there is all this social media and all these things and jokes that you can put on ourselves,” he said. “Probably, that’s borderline to be abused in social media.
“We talk sometimes that we are not happy with our position, but we are hard workers. And Honda are hard workers. And Aston Martin, we are 1,000 people of hard workers.
“They go Monday to Sunday to work eight hours to fix our problems. And the problems will be fixed. It’s a matter of time. I believe in the project.
“I trust my team and we are in this together. Obviously, we take one of the hardest parts of the situation because we race every week and we face the media every week and we jump in the car tomorrow. And we are very uncompetitive.
“But our team and our leaders, they took the decision in Australia to wait until it was worth making an upgraded package for cost-efficient and things like that. And we all agree on that.
“We are all waiting on that and we wait in the best manner possible.”
Alonso will no doubt bring his A Game to the Red Bull Ring this weekend, as the team inches closer to potential upgrades that could see the team jump further up the pack.
READ MORE – ‘Great hopes we continue together’: Aston Martin issues coy Fernando Alonso future update
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