Fernando Alonso sees an ‘almost impossible’ challenge for Aston Martin at the new Madrid circuit. The Spaniard believes that the difficulty in overtaking and the speed deficit on the straights make the qualifying session of the Spanish Formula 1 GP even more important.
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Alonso had a complicated Friday in Madrid, especially in TL2, when a clutch problem delayed his participation after the start practice runs at the end of TL1. With only sixteen laps completed, Alonso was off the planned pace and finished the session in 17th.
The Spaniard explained that the lack of mileage at the start of TL2 left him ‘out of sync’ and a little behind the team’s plan.
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For Alonso, however, the main obstacle lies in the car’s behavior on the straights: “For us, it is almost impossible with the deficit on the straights, so the qualifying session will be important,” he said, also highlighting that the 22 corners of Madrid should make overtaking difficult, although factors such as close walls, safety car entries, and red flags could open opportunities during the race.
The Spaniard also pointed out difficulties related to tire management and battery charge, as well as ongoing issues with the Honda power unit: “Tomorrow, in the qualifying session, it should be better. But it will be complicated to get everything right, with tire temperature and battery charge state at the end of the lap,” Alonso said, adding that the car’s behavior can be quite sensitive to the way it is driven in the last corners: “There are some things we are discovering and that we definitely need to fix,” he concluded.
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