After an underwhelming outing in Silverstone, Fernando Alonso has taken a dig at four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel. The Aston Martin driver, who was far away from the podium positions, was visibly unhappy with the AMR23’s pace. After the race concluded, he did not hold back while slamming his predecessor at Aston Martin, Vettel.
After a promising beginning to the season, they have fallen off as of late. They failed to match the expectations heading into their home race in Silverstone. In the end, Alonso and Lance Stroll finished P7 and P14 respectively. Apart from the relatively inferior straight-line speed, the AMR23 seemed to be draggy, which led to their disappointing outing overall.
Furthermore, with McLaren and Mercedes making important improvements, Aston Martin’s early season progress has now been overshadowed. Alonso‘s P7 was the only positive they could take from the weekend and after the race, the 41-year-old couldn’t help but take a sly dig at Vettel.
Fernando Alonso unleashed digs, unapologetically
As F1 drivers always do, Alonso too appeared for interviews following the conclusion of the 2023 British Grand Prix. There, he was asked about the team’s improvements at this particular track over the course of the year. Answering this, the Asturian was not only unapologetic but also straightforward.
The 41-year-old stated according to a Fernando Alonso Twitter post, “Some patterns are repeated, with this same car last year Lance finished in the same position. Sebastian was P9, I was P7, I think you see where the improvement is.”
The chequered flag is waved on the #BritishGP.
Fernando brings home points for the team. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/NzLKwJgPgR
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) July 9, 2023
With that said, it is noticeable how the Silverstone-based team is struggling. At one point, they were in P2 in the Constructors’ championship and were slower only than Red Bull, the most dominant team of the lot. But now, they seem to be struggling with the pace in the midfield, behind Ferrari, Mercedes and even McLaren.
Alonso refuses to let his slump continue
After the disastrous performance in the United Kingdom, Fernando Alonso is unlikely to sit back and watch his rivals overtake him. Regarded as a bad loser, the 41-year-old is also infamous for straining relationships with his team when it comes to performance, as seen with Alpine last year.
Furthermore, this is the first time Alonso has spoken up against his team, and it’ll be interesting to find out if this kickstarts tensions between them. When it comes to the Constructors’ championship, Aston Martin still trails Mercedes for P2.
Despite this, the Aston Martin star is hopeful for the future. Alonso revealed on Saturday that the season doesn’t end at Silverstone and believes they will overcome deficits in the coming days with major upgrades.
