Fernando Alonso claimed that Aston Martin were the ninth fastest team on the grid after the F1 US GP. While the first and only practice session and the Sprint Qualifying of the weekend looked promising for the Spaniard, the Sprint race eliminated him on the first lap. After lining up P6 on the grid, the former champion was involved in a Turn 1 racing incident with Nico Hulkenberg, Oscar Piastri, and Lando Norris.
“It’s a sprint weekend so there is a little bit of a mix and the people getting used to some things, rookies as well – they need to learn the track,” Alonso said after F1 US GP Qualifying.
“So, I don’t know, in all our metrics we are the eighth fastest team and yesterday [Friday] we were 6th and 10th [Lance Stroll was 14th in sprint qualifying]. So, happy in that regard but I don’t think that this is a particularly good weekend for the Aston.”
The team has been experiencing quite the struggle over the season. They currently sit seventh in the Constructors’ standings with 69 points. While Lance Stroll’s first points of the season were achieved at the season opener in Australia, Alonso did not get his first point until the Spanish GP.
Alonso: “There are not many teams behind us at the moment”
After the F1 US GP, the two-time World Champion revealed that he believed the team was less competitive in the race than in Qualifying.
“We were slow compared to the cars in front of us and we were holding the Racing Bull [of Liam Lawson] behind us.
“They were within one second of us the whole race, so that means they had more pace than us. Yep, we struggled a little bit more on the race than any other session on the weekend.
“We seem a little bit faster in qualifying and less competitive in the race. We need to improve that for the last five races.”
While the Spaniard lost two places at the start, he made up for it later on when Carlos Sainz turned into Kimi Antonelli. Sainz being forced to retire from the race. When asked if P10 was a good result, Alonso responded:
“Probably we are ninth today because I don’t feel who is the ninth and the tenth team. I think Alpine maybe is the one that is struggling more but after Alpine, I don’t know.
“Haas is clearly in front of us, with Ollie’s very strong race. Sauber for sure in front, Williams in another league. There are not many teams behind us at the moment. To be tenth and score one point is a good result but we need to get better for Mexico.”
Stroll satisfied despite leaving with no points
While Alonso grabbed a point in the Grand Prix, his teammate, Lance Stroll, did not manage to follow. After qualifying P14 in the Sprint Qualifying, the Sprint Race ended in a double retirement for the team. Stroll then qualified P18 for the Grand Prix, but gained a couple of places as he ended the race P12.
After the US GP, Stroll reflected on his race in the media pen, stating:
“It was a fun race. Attacking all race and some good overtakes so that was fun. We were close to getting points. but did the best we could. It was going to be tricky from where we were starting.”
He continued on to be asked why this weekend was another difficult case for the team.
“It was a good race now. We made our way through and picked up some positions. The car was feeling good today, so we’ll see what we can do in Mexico.” Stroll responded.
Despite finishing outside of the points, Stroll appeared satisfied with his performance. Aston Martin will hope this weekend in Mexico will be better for the team as they look for a double point finish.
