Fernando Alonso, from the Aston Martin F1 team, is anticipating a challenging weekend at the Miami Grand Prix. He believes that the circuit’s characteristics will not be favorable for the 2024 Formula 1 car. Alonso expects the weaknesses of the AMR24 to be exposed at the Miami International Autodrome and that they will have to wait for future races to be competitive. The car performs well in low-speed corners but struggles on the long straights and high-speed corners of the Miami Formula 1 circuit. However, Alonso remains hopeful as the team has been able to exceed expectations in similar situations this season.
Alonso acknowledges that there have been circuits where they had high hopes but did not perform well, as well as circuits where they did not expect much but had a good performance. He suggests that they will have a better understanding of the car’s capabilities on tracks like Imola and Monaco. The team has some ideas to improve the car, especially for race day, and they plan to implement them. With limited practice time during the Sprint weekend, they will try to make the most of the free practice session on Sunday morning. However, Alonso admits that he expects a tough weekend in Miami.
Although Alonso has shown impressive pace in qualifying, Aston Martin has struggled to maintain this performance throughout a race. They often find themselves in the last scoring positions. This is in contrast to the characteristics of the car last year, with Alonso attributing the change to the different traits of the two cars. The AMR24 may be more demanding on tires and have difficulties with tire degradation and temperature, which can be a challenge in the hot conditions of Miami. The team has been working to improve the setup since Japan and has more ideas to test during the limited practice time in Miami.
