After a nightmarish start to the season with eight rounds and zero points to his name, Fernando Alonso has started the F1 Spanish GP weekend on a hopeful note.
The Spaniard, for a change, found himself in the top 10 in the FP2 tally on Friday. Alonso finished the session in P7 with a gap of 0.541s to leader Oscar Piastri. Meanwhile, his teammate Lance Stroll managed a lowly P16 finish with a wider gulf of 1.079s.
The positive run for Alonso comes amidst Aston Martin’s push through upgrades. Incidentally, these upgrades have worked well with the new technical directive, which comes into force at the Spanish GP.
Alonso looked a little coy about his opinion on the technical directive, though. While he maintains it did not affect their car much, the uptick in performance was evident.
“Didn’t change much, I think the car feels similar. I think the competitiveness is similar to the last few events. So, I don’t think it changed massively. We’re still fine-tuning the car, the setup. Quite warm conditions for this weekend. So, we have to deal with that,” Alonso said to F1 in a post-Spanish GP FP2 interview .
Despite maintaining that the car didn’t feel much different, the two-time champion admitted there were points on the table for him. That, he believes, is possible on merit, which the team has carried since the Monaco GP last weekend.
“[It’s] not critical to get the points. It’s more about understanding the car and get faster and faster, and get some points on merit. I think Monaco was the first opportunity on merit, and hopefully, we have another shot here.
“It’s a normal Friday. Good to see all the fans. And the car is working well, so let’s see what we can do tomorrow,” Alonso concluded.
Why Fernando Alonso needs to score points at Spanish GP
Aston Martin is currently languishing in eighth place in the constructors’ championship tally with just 14 points under their belt.
Alonso has borne the worst of this brunt that the team has suffered as a consequence of the drop in performance. After eight rounds, the Spaniard is still searching for his first points while Stroll has managed to make the most of the opportunities that came his way.
The Canadian is currently 11th in the drivers’ standings with 14 points to his name. This trend comes as a shock to many, as Alonso has played the role of the lead driver for the Silverstone-based team in the last two years.
Scoring points at the Spanish GP will therefore not only get the fan sentiment up but also Alonso’s confidence as the season slowly creeps to the midway mark. Moreover, it will provide him reassurance ahead of the 2026 season, where he will once again command the team with an Adrian Newey-designed car, powered by Honda, for the first time in Aston Martin’s history.
