Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin had another disappointing race in Sao Paulo last weekend as neither he nor his teammate Lance Stroll scored any points. What further added to Alonso’s troubles was the immense back pain he suffered throughout the course of the race because of the intense porpoising.
However, that was not the only challenge he and the rest of the drivers faced. With qualifying and the main race taking place on Sunday in inclement weather conditions, the drivers found it very difficult to keep their cars on track.
As a result, several drivers, including Alonso and Stroll, also ended up crashing out during qualifying. With just a few hours remaining before the Grand Prix took place, Aston Martin were in a battle against time to repair both cars.
While both Alonso and Stroll were fortunate enough to compete in the race because of the fantastic efforts the team’s mechanics put in, others such as Alex Albon were not as fortunate after crashing the car during qualifying. With the Thai driver being unable to make it to the race, Alonso urged F1 to amend their rules.
Fernando Alonso gave everything for the team today pic.twitter.com/y7uN18MSvo
— Autosport (@autosport) November 3, 2024
“It was a very atypical race because qualifying and the race were so close together. There was no time for Alex [Albon] to repair the car. Maybe we should set a minimum time between the end of qualifying and the race so that everyone can race because the fans come here to see 20 drivers race”, Alonso said after the Sao Paulo GP.
The Spaniard made these remarks as even his and Stroll’s AMR24 was not at 100%. Both their Aston Martins suffered from issues with the brakes.
Alonso explained his “nightmare” troubles with the brakes
During the same interview, Alonso explained how his brakes after all the restarts felt as if he was using a “handbrake“. He added “it was a nightmare out there” for him as his “brake balance went completely backward”.
Stroll too complained about the AMR24’s brakes, stating that they were “strange”. “As soon as I hit the brakes, the rear wheels locked and I was a passenger. I’ve never felt that in the car before, so maybe it was a brake problem,” he explained.
2024 has indeed been a frustrating campaign for both Alonso and Aston Martin after a sensational season last year in which the Spaniard registered eight podium places and finished fourth in the championship. In stark contrast, he has failed to register a single podium this year and is only ninth in the standings.
While Alonso and Aston Martin will hope to have a better 2025, their best chance of fighting at the sharp end of the grid may come in 2026 when F1 introduces new regulations. That would also be the first year Aston Martin will have an Adrian Newey car as the legendary British aerodynamicist will officially join them after the first quarter of next year.
