It’s been only one race in the 2024 season and Fernando Alonso already seems to have no hopes from the first half of the campaign. Aston Martin had a rather underwhelming season opener in Bahrain, unlike Alonso’s podium heroics 12 months ago. This has led the Spaniard to make comments that he hopes they will come good in the latter half of 2024. So, has the two-time champion written off Aston Martin’s potential to come good before the summer break? He has given some reasoning for this cautious optimism.
According to SoyMotor, Alonso said, “Last year we gave everything at the beginning of the season and then we were no longer able to react to the high pace of the leading teams. This year we have more hope in the second part of the championship. I have confidence. I am happy”.
The 42-year-old hit the nail on the head as to how Aston Martin started strong in 2023 but faltered as the season’s business end came. Meanwhile, McLaren did the opposite and ended the season on an amazing high to even pip Aston Martin to P4.
Thus, it makes sense why Alonso is expecting Aston Martin to take a page out of McLaren’s book. Last year, the Spaniard wasn’t content with how the AMR23 couldn’t fight for podiums consistently in the second half of the year.
This was a result of multiple factors. The team claimed that they took a wrong turn in development during the Canadian GP upgrade. Meanwhile, there were also reports of the change in tire construction by Pirelli around the British GP that plagued Aston Martin‘s performance.
However, one major factor that came before these two factors was the FIA clampdown on flexi-wing usage. Reports suggested this started to affect the AMR23 around the Spanish GP and Alonso only got three podiums after Barcelona.
Is Fernando Alonso unsure about Aston Martin’s potential?
Fernando Alonso assured he is confident of Aston Martin making a comeback as the season progresses after his P9 finish in Bahrain. However, Alonso is not the kind of individual to be cautiously optimistic. After his 2023 exploits, the Spaniard would have expected more from Aston Martin.
While he claimed that the team has realistic expectations and know how they can take the next step, Alonso doesn’t have time to spare. Turning 43 this year, the two-time champion wants to get back to winning races as soon as possible.
He is chasing his long-awaited 33rd Grand Prix victory and perhaps also the elusive third world championship. Thus, the former Ferrari driver would look elsewhere if the Silverstone-based team don’t deliver on his expectations.
There have been speculations that Alonso may look to replace the outgoing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. The two-time champion has indirectly endorsed himself as the only champion available for 2025. However, he will look to carefully gauge Aston Martin’s future potential for a race-winning car and compare it with the Mercedes prospects.
As things stand, Aston Martin needs to deliver a better car and make progress to retain Alonso. The Spaniard most likely won’t think twice about jumping ship to the Silver Arrows if they falter in making good progress.
