Fernando Alonso, from the Aston Martin F1 Team AMR24, does not expect to repeat last season’s podium at the Bahrain Grand Prix. He acknowledges that the team was in a stronger position 12 months ago. Alonso took advantage of Aston Martin’s resurgence as a top team last year, securing third place in his debut race and achieving six podium finishes in the following eight races. However, despite the team’s optimism about the improved AMR24 car, Alonso believes they are not as competitive compared to their rivals.
During the FP2 session in the evening, Alonso finished in third place on the time sheets, less than three tenths of a second behind Lewis Hamilton, who led a Mercedes one-two. Alonso expressed satisfaction with the drivability of the Aston Martin 2024 car. However, he acknowledged the challenge of assessing the team’s position relative to the others at this early stage.
Alonso stated, “It was good. Obviously, we don’t know what the others are doing. We completed our program. We know the test tires well, so we sacrificed a bit in FP1 using the Mediums, to focus more on performance with two Softs. Now, in FP2, we learned a bit more about the car. I believe we made some changes in the setup that we are quite satisfied with the result, so we’ll see tomorrow when we put it all together in qualifying, the same for everyone.”
While Alonso recognizes the need for Aston Martin to find more speed, he also emphasized that the Bahrain Grand Prix marks the beginning of a record-breaking 24-race calendar. He remains calm and positive, understanding that the team’s performance can change significantly depending on the amount of fuel and other factors. Alonso declared, “I think 12 months ago we were in a stronger position, I would say, here in Bahrain. But, yes, let’s see. I’m happy. I’m going into the first qualifying of the season with positive thoughts. Thinking about a very long season, so we need to start off on the right foot for sure, but it’s not just Bahrain. I think we need to look ahead to the upcoming events as well.”
Meanwhile, Lance Stroll, Alonso’s teammate, showed improvement, moving from 14th position in FP1 to eighth position in the second practice session. Stroll is optimistic after making positive adjustments to his car. He stated, “Overall, it was a solid day here in Bahrain. I think we took a step forward in FP2, the car behaved well with the changes in setup that we made. I haven’t fully analyzed the race pace yet, but the car performed very well, so that’s positive. Obviously, it’s still early and we don’t know what the others were doing with their fuel loads in the session. We’ll know much more after qualifying and the race.”
