"We were not as fast": Fernando Alonso on Aston Martin's performance in Bahrain GP
Mar 05, 2024
New Delhi [India], March 5 : After the end of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team Fernando Alonso expressed that the AMR 24 was not fast enough at the Sakhir circuit.
Aston Martin could bag just three points in the opening Bahrain Grand Prix after Alonso finished ninth. His teammate Lance Stroll ended the race in 10th place.
Speaking to the media after the end of the race, Alonso pointed out that they are currently standing behind McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari in the constructors' standings.
"I think we were not as fast as yesterday for sure... But yeah, we are the fifth team at the moment behind McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari - more or less as we were in Abu Dhabi so we have kept where we finished in 2023," Alonso was quoted by Formula One's official website as saying.
The two-time world champion said that Aston Martin needs to "overcome this deficit" in the Bahrain GP.
"Now it is a long championship, we need to overcome this deficit and try to be in the mix so very interesting weeks ahead," he added.
He pointed out Aston Martin's last year's performance and said that in the 2023 season, they started with a "good baseline". He further added that in the 2024 season, the British F1 side wants to be a "top team".
"Last year we started with a very good baseline, we were not strong enough as a team to keep up with the progress the top teams were making during the season. This year we want to change that, and be a top team also off-track with the development race and let's see what we can do," he concluded.
