On street circuits, and particularly in Singapore, a driver’s skill and ability to make a difference tend to stand out. The lack of confidence between the walls of the Marina Bay circuit can make a significant impact, as seen in the internal battles between the McLaren and Red Bull drivers.
However, looking at the standings, there are also drivers who managed to make a difference, including Fernando Alonso, who brought Aston Martin to eighth place—enough to lead the midfield teams. A result that the British team hadn’t expected from their simulations, though Fernando Alonso clearly aims to fight for much higher positions. He was very active during the last practice sessions, collecting data for the engineers and testing various solutions and setups.
While waiting for the updates that Fernando Alonso hopes will truly help Aston Martin take a step forward in performance and driveability, especially since not all the developments this season have delivered the expected results, the Spaniard has been making the difference in the last few Grands Prix, further consolidating the team’s position in the Constructors’ Championship.
While fifth place in the championship has never really been in doubt, much of this is thanks to the points accumulated by the two-time champion, with twelve points coming from the last two street races—between the streets of Baku and under the lights of Singapore. Although in Azerbaijan, the late contact between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez allowed Fernando Alonso to gain two free positions, he has been the driving force behind Aston Martin on street circuits, where he has also collected a good number of points in 2024, including fifth place in Jeddah and sixth in Montreal.
In Singapore, Aston Martin introduced a new front wing with revised upper flaps and a redesigned nose (on the right in the comparison below), aiming to provide more front downforce and, as a result, better balance with the rear wing. The goal was to rebalance the car’s two ends, opening the door to more setup options without having to compromise too much.
While this helped, the overall lack of downforce remained evident, and Lance Stroll struggled all weekend to find a good feeling with the AMR24, dropping out in Q1. In Baku as well, the Canadian couldn’t find the necessary confidence in his car, also hindered by a more downforce-heavy aerodynamic setup than his teammate’s, which didn’t deliver the expected results.
In Singapore, Fernando Alonso seemed in form from Friday onwards. Curiously, just like in Baku, top speeds—especially with DRS open—also helped in Singapore, though not as significantly as a week earlier. This was an aspect other teams, such as Racing Bulls, struggled with in qualifying, while Aston Martin managed to be more consistent in terms of performance.
In the race, the Spaniard spent a long time behind Hulkenberg, who had managed to qualify ahead of him, with a small group behind them that included Charles Leclerc, who started from the fifth row after problems in Q3. Given the difficulty of overtaking the Haas driver, who skillfully managed the “train” of cars, Aston Martin opted for a strategic play, attacking with an undercut that materialized a few laps later, when the German pitted and rejoined about seven seconds behind Alonso, but with a four-lap tire delta.
Clearly, it was difficult for Fernando Alonso to manage the recovery of Charles Leclerc, who had the pace to potentially compete for the podium. Until the finish line, Alonso had to manage Hulkenberg’s return, who in the final laps got back within striking distance of the Aston Martin driver but was unable to get within DRS range.
An eighth-place finish that, according to Team Principal Mike Krack, exceeded all expectations, as no simulation had predicted them finishing so high: “Of course, we have our numbers and projections. But we have to be honest: none of our simulations said we would get this far up,” said Mike Krack, emphasizing that this result was the product of both an excellent qualifying session, crucial in Singapore, and great race management.
While Alonso has made the difference on street circuits and secured more points for Aston Martin, the next races will return to more traditional tracks, starting with Austin, where Alonso believes the AMR24 might show more signs of struggle. The hope is that the new parts will help them take a step forward: “Yes, we will probably struggle more on regular tracks. I believe that the last street circuits, like here and in Baku, gave us an opportunity. But I think now we need to step it up. In the next races, new parts will arrive, and we hope they will help us return to better performances.”
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