Fernando Alonso remarks that Aston Martin’s fifth-place standing in the Bahrain Grand Prix aligns precisely with their pre-race expectations, despite a noteworthy showing in qualifying.
During a fiercely contested qualifying session, Alonso secured sixth place, trailing polesitter Max Verstappen by a mere 0.363s and narrowly missing out on third place held by George Russell.
However, in the race, Alonso slipped down to ninth, unable to match the pace of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes and both McLarens, despite them starting behind him. His teammate, Lance Stroll, faced an early spin but managed to recover and secure the final point in 10th place.
Alonso described the race as meeting the team’s projections, considering their starting position. He stated, “Today I think is exactly what we expected. Our simulations were saying that we were around P9 with not much fight in front of us, the top four teams a little bit with too much ahead, and with a comfortable gap behind.”
Regarding Aston Martin’s performance over a single lap, Alonso expressed surprise at their qualifying speed, suggesting that their focus should now be on understanding why they were so quick during qualifying compared to their race pace.
He explained, “We are lacking pace for sure. Yesterday’s laps are something to study – why we were so fast. So, I think the race was normal. What was exceptional was yesterday’s lap.”
Team principal Mike Krack acknowledged the need to analyze why the car performed exceptionally well in qualifying compared to pre-season expectations. He highlighted the importance of achieving a balance between qualifying and race performance, emphasizing the team’s desire to improve in both areas as they progress through the season.
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