When a Formula 1 Grand Prix ends just outside the points and your only hope is a penalty or disqualification for someone ahead to score a few, the situation is never, absolutely never, a positive one.
That’s exactly what Fernando Alonso is experiencing, finishing 11th today and nearly three seconds behind Oliver Bearman, who finished 10th in a Haas that, after Melbourne, seemed in deep crisis. In short, it’s a particularly discouraging picture for a driver with two F1 world titles and who races for a team that has hired Adrian Newey and secured major investments since being acquired by the group led by Lawrence Stroll.
The Spaniard has always been a blunt driver. He’s never hesitated to take jabs at anyone—especially the teams he’s raced for over his many years in the sport. And today, after a strong personal race but a poor one for his team, he repeated one of his usual routines: being direct and using strong words to push those responsible for providing him with a car that meets expectations.
He said he didn’t believe they could have scored points by using a different strategy. They simply weren’t fast enough to finish in the Top 10. He added that maybe they weren’t even fast enough to complete the race in the Top 18, so the 11th-place finish was something of a miracle.
He said, as he had already mentioned, the car was inconsistent throughout the race and didn’t have much grip. They only changed tyres to protect themselves from Yuki Tsunoda closing in, and in case something happened to a car ahead that would allow them into the Top 10. If they hadn’t pitted at that lap, they would have come out 12th or 13th.
He also pointed out that they had the slowest car on the straights. So if they had been overtaken during the pit stop, they wouldn’t have been able to overtake anyone on track because of that. For this reason, he said, they were in a kind of spiral that’s hard to get out of. Now, they would see what happens—if two or three cars get disqualified, then they’ll get points.
To conclude, Fernando Alonso distanced himself from Aston Martin’s current problems. On the contrary, he emphasized how he had managed to extract the maximum—and even a bit more—from the so-far disappointing AMR25. It was a way to remind the team that he expects much more, despite what his age may suggest.
He said it had been a completely anonymous race. No one would remember it if he said he finished 11th at Suzuka in 2025. But personally, it was one of his best races. He extracted the maximum from the car and even a little more. That always leaves a good taste. But the result was what it was, and they had to accept it.
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