Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin wind tunnel issues: “I think Mercedes faced them too”. Fernando Alonso pointed out some obstacles in the Aston Martin car's development.

2024 against expectations
In his first season with Aston Martin in 2023, Fernando Alonso seemed to be on the right track to achieve his 33rd career win, which has been missing since 2013. After three consecutive podiums with the Silverstone team, including in his debut, the Spaniard secured five more top-3 finishes, coming second in Monaco, Canada, and the Netherlands. Results that would have suggested further improvement in the following season, but this was not the case. Fernando Alonso, in fact, never finished higher than 5th in Saudi Arabia.

Some problems with the Mercedes wind tunnel
Aston Martin has invested heavily to turn things around for 2025, not only by hiring Adrian Newey but also by building a new factory and a new wind tunnel, which will soon be operational. In the meantime, with the use of Mercedes’ wind tunnel in Brackley, Fernando Alonso stated that the wind tunnel was one of the issues affecting the car’s development: “It’s not an easy solution or answer, because otherwise it would have been a little easier than what we found, but I think it’s a problem of understanding the car,” the Spaniard explained on the Chequered Flag podcast. “There are wind tunnel issues that I think Mercedes faced last year in terms of car development. Our use of the wind tunnel is a bit limited by using the Mercedes wind tunnel.”

Not just the wind tunnel
The former Ferrari driver also noted some similarities between the issues with his car and those of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton during the season. However, just like Team Principal Mike Krack, he stated that the problems didn’t arise solely from the wind tunnel: “I think some of it comes from one side, some from the wind tunnel, and some from our understanding of the factory,” Fernando Alonso added. “It’s been a mix of things that we think have contributed to the lack of development.”