Life was going smoothly for Fernando Alonso when he joined Aston Martin in 2023. He was a regular face on the podium last season, with his team emerging as the dark horses on the grid. Following a strong finish to the 2023 season, the expectation from Alonso and his team was to build on from there. However, following a dismal Qualifying session in Imola, the Spanish driver has hardly any hopes left, as quoted by SoyMotor.
Fernando Alonso saw himself take an early exit in the Qualifying session in Imola. He finished last among all of the active drivers in Q1.
Knowing well enough that the track in Italy is one of the toughest circuits to overtake, the 42-year-old is gearing up for a long race ahead. Hence, the two-time former world champion believes all he can do is start preparing for the upcoming race in Monaco.
Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) is the only driver on the current #F1 grid to have raced at Imola with V10, V8 and V6 engines
2001-2005: V10
2006: V8
2021-2024: V6#ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/ovqQCP9VUK— Autosport (@autosport) May 18, 2024
“Well, nothing, the truth is, nothing. Finish the race, go home and think about Monaco . This is the second most difficult circuit to overtake, only behind Monaco.”, said Alonso.
A lack of competitive machinery has been the primary cause of Aston Martin’s downfall in 2024. While Alonso has often performed beyond the capabilities of the car in Qualifying sessions, it all comes back to zero once racing is underway.
The only way to bypass this situation is to bring viable upgrades to the car, but the recent upgrades haven’t been anything to write home about.
“Aggressive” Aston Martin developments not a boon for Fernando Alonso
Ahead of the 2024 Imola GP, Aston Martin opted to bring a major upgrade to their car. Per the team’s Technical Director, Dan Fallows, the upgrade is the first step in an “aggressive” approach to development adopted by Aston Martin. Fallows explained that the team has realized where they can push forward and where they need to be careful.
️| Dan Fallows: “I think most of this update is based on what we saw from the launch car, the test car and then how we wanted to evolve it,” he said.
“We saw that some circuits suit our car better than others. And something we focused on, trying to make sure we could express… pic.twitter.com/VVGZ2IzsPA
— Aston Martin Formula 1 News (@AMF1News) May 17, 2024
The upgrade in Imola is Aston Martin’s “biggest one to date.” But, the team plans to keep bringing more such upgrades in the next few races. However, the fact remains that the upgrade hasn’t resulted in a lot of positives for Alonso.
The Spaniard will be starting the race in Imola from the last row and has little to no hope of getting into the points in Italy. Given the same, all hopes from the upgrades now rest on the race in Monaco.
