Fernando Alonso says he produced one of his best performances in the Japanese Grand Prix but believes it is likely to be overlooked.
“I think it was one of my best races or my best weekends,” Alonso told Sky. “I think it was very complete and very strong, very solid.“Since free practice, to the race, maybe the best of the last year or maybe even top five of my career. But this is going to be completely anonymous.”
The Aston Martin driver finished sixth after starting fifth. His team mate Lance Stroll could only manage 12th from 16th on the grid.
But Alonso believes “everyone will forget by tomorrow this weekend that we had.”
“I felt connected with the car. I think P5 yesterday is completely out of position and P6 today is completely out of position.
“We are definitely slower than Red Bull and Ferrari, they are maybe in another league at the moment. But I think McLaren and Mercedes, they are faster than us. Mercedes did experiment a little bit with a hard starting tyre today and a little bit of a bold strategy. But thanks to that, we capitalised on the position.”
Alonso is out of contract at the end of this year. He has previously said he will wait until later in the season before deciding whether he wants to continue racing in F1. But the two-times world champion indicated he is dissatisfied with Aston Martin’s current level of performance.
“I have a lot of fun, which is great to keep on racing,” he said. “[But] I had one of my best weekends ever, I think, driving, and I’m 44 seconds behind the leader. It doesn’t feel attractive in the same time, so let’s see.”
He may have an opportunity to join Mercedes next year as the team seeks a replacement for Lewis Hamilton. However Alonso pointed out: “Mercedes is behind us. So it doesn’t feel that attractive.”
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2024 Japanese Grand Prix
- “Am I in a race here or what?”: How Ferrari aced their Suzuka strategies
- Suzuka showed Mercedes “have a more stable platform” now
- Ferrari’s strategy gains in 2024 are “purely down to the car” – Sainz
- Tsunoda ‘at Verstappen and Alonso’s level’ with Suzuka performance – Marko
- Japan was first race where Red Bull’s winning margin was bigger than last year
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
7th April 2024, 12:16
No one is ever going to forget you Fernando ….. you won’t let us! ;)
Nick T.
8th April 2024, 4:24
I mean, he kind of has to be his own salesman since the British dominated world feeds and F1 media basically never focus on him. They just constantly obsess over Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Lando, George, Lewis and, understandably, Max/RBR. AM and Alonso are usually treated like an after thought. They even do it during qualifying. Even when Alonso is putting together one of the best laps, they tend to almost never feature his sector times at the bottom of the screen. They’ll always show George, Oscar, Lewis, Lando, etc. and he is one of the rarest to get actually his car shown on screen during quali of the top 10.
He gets a lot of screen time in the races often though because he’s out qualifying his car and having to keep faster cars behind him.
Dave
8th April 2024, 13:59
+1
notagrumpyfan
7th April 2024, 12:22
So he’s ahead of the faster Mercedes, yet doesn’t want to join the slower Mercedes.
Dex
7th April 2024, 12:38
He didn’t say slower, but behind. It doesn’t make much difference on the long run though.
notagrumpyfan
7th April 2024, 13:32
How do you interpret “Mercedes is behind us” other than they being slower?
Tomato, tomato!
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
7th April 2024, 13:40
Because they underperformed in Alonso’s view. They are struggling.
notagrumpyfan
7th April 2024, 14:40
And what does ‘underperforming’ mean in motorsports?
a) they are slower;
b) they are faster;
c) they are behind at the end of the race, but maybe they waved so much on the straights that albeit they were faster they still spent more time over the full race laps.
Mark (@mrcento)
7th April 2024, 20:54
I think he means it more in reference to being 44 seconds behind Red Bull not being an attractive place to be now or staying in the future, I.e, he’s driven his socks off (in his opinion) and even with that level of performance, he’s still the best part of a minute off the leader. And if he was in a Mercedes, faster or slower, it makes so little difference either way compared to the Red Bull, he’d still be the best part of a minute off the leader, a sideways step.
Mooa42
8th April 2024, 1:49
He would’ve been 15 to 20 sec quicker if he didn’t keep slowing down to make sure Piastri was close enough to get DRS.
Nick T.
8th April 2024, 4:17
He meant in yesterday’s results. It’s clear Mercedes has a faster all around car, but their continual failure to understand the rule means they’re not that great a prospect. And, I agree, I think Aston’s future has every bit as much chance to be as good or better than Mercedes.
What I really gather from this is that he’s putting all his eggs in trying to get the RBR seat.
Ken
8th April 2024, 15:31
It’s rather obvious Merc is the faster car despite all their issues and I believe he will go there if the opportunity arises as RBR won’t happen.
Merc is by far the biggest team in F1 (1,200 employees) and make their own engines. They will turn it around sooner than later – surely sooner than Aston.
Aston hasn’t progressed so he will be fighting for occasional podiums at best this year and he can’t afford to wait for Honda engines in 2026 especially not knowing what their performance will be, at least initially.
As far as him claiming Aston being a better car than Merc – it’s just head games. Saying he may retire is another:)
Nick T.
9th April 2024, 9:15
If one looks at other sites you can see the full context of Alonso’s quotes. He literally said Mercedes had a faster car this weekend and the whole season, but they still ended up behind and that basically they’re not looking so attractive since they really can’t seem to figure out what they’re doing. I think Alonso has realized two things: Mercedes is no more likely to give him a shot at the WDC than AM so he’s putting all his eggs into getting the RBR driver and staying at AM if he doesn’t since b) I think he realizes while Kimi is not setting F2 on fire, he’s pasting Bearman and it seems more and more likely MB is going to put him in for 2025 since they’re anticipating it being another write off, which it absolutely will be.
Ken
10th April 2024, 0:54
I don’t think Merc is in such a bad position and look for them to be a lot more competitive by summer break. Hamilton leaving has dealt them a serious blow. They changed the car’s design to his liking and then he signed with Ferrari which blows things to bits.
But they know how to build winning cars. They will have to tiptoe to make sure they don’t give HAM info he can take with him. I think that is why HAM is not doing so good this year. They will do all they can to make sure his car is not equal with George’s and for good reason. I think HAM may have underestimated the hard feelings that would follow his jumping ship. I think he, and especially Ferrari were flat out stupid for signing so early.
What Merc really needs at this point in time is Alonso and if not him then Sainz. Sign him for 2 years or more. George is not the answer. I think ALO would go there if he gets the offer UNLESS Aston ups their game now but I really don’t think they have the potential at this point.
BLS (@brightlampshade)
7th April 2024, 12:23
His car has a pace that sits in a bit of a gap in the field
His team mate is abysmal so he can’t even race him
If he has a good weekend he’ll probably be 5th. If he has a bad weekend he’ll probably be 9th. He’s picking up the points but I assume it’s not especially exciting for him.
DMC
7th April 2024, 13:00
The guy is one of the goats if not the goat in my opinion, unbelievable punishing consistency in extracting the most out of a car, and great racing intelligence for so long!
Nick T.
8th April 2024, 4:45
Here’s some of my favorite racecraft tools he always deploys that I mentioned earlier:
-let’s drivers get close and then keeps them in dirty air to ruin their tires. It’s funny how so many fans think that’s a dirty tactic.
-when a much faster car is coming up with a subpar driver like Sergio, he builds up a ton of battery, lets them past without a fight and then sticks to their wing for a long time to grab that DRS and pull a gap on cars he can realistically race for position. He’s done it in literally every race this season.
-If there’s an active hard race in front of him, he’ll extend his stint in the hopes they collide and he can benefit from him an SC
-Drives varying lines, like in Brazil against Checo, so the driver behind can’t try a surprise late braking move
-And, as we saw this weekend, will try to tow a car to keep it ahead of a faster car behind it that is more of a danger to keep them behind
-Most of all, just never gives up
Lopes da Silva
7th April 2024, 13:19
I wish Netflix and Liberty Media had more sway.
Only they could persuade Red Bull to hire him asap.
Andrey Baydin (@minilemm)
7th April 2024, 15:12
Careful what you wish for
Ken
8th April 2024, 14:49
Max doesn’t want that for obvious reasons. He stated last week he couldn’t understand why RBR would hire the 42 year old Alonso as his teammate instead of younger one. It’s obviously because if Max jumps ship, they arguably have the best all around driver on the grid to take over.
In any case, I wonder what Max would say if he was asked the same about hiring Sainz? Is he too old also? Horner may be forced to hire one of those two since Max’ camp (Jos) has threatened to move Max to Merc. They would need a leader – Perez isn’t quite at that level.
I think when Horner stated RBR would be fine without Max it sent a message that they don’t need him as much as he needs them (RBR). I hope RBR gets SAI or ALO because Max is great but how great is he? This has turned into another HAM scenario where we will never know how truly great he is if he’s racing a so-so teammate.
I hope there is a significant shakeup and we get to see some battling at the front. F1 doesn’t need another decade of one team domination.
Nick T.
9th April 2024, 9:17
I agree. Max only had the best things to say about Alonso until now. Didn’t Max had said that. I actually thought Max was bored and might want some competition. But he probably also realizes that since Alonso would crush the competition just as easily or almost as easily at worst, it gives him a lot less leverage no matter how old FA is.
Nick T.
9th April 2024, 16:54
Didn’t know Max had said that*
ps – I don’t believe for a second Max is worried about making sure RBR picks the best drive for the future of their organization. So, Max must not want the competition.
Lopes da Silva
9th April 2024, 22:49
I’m not sure if Max has the leverage to block a Red Bull hire. Anyway, if he has it’s because Red Bull believes he is really good.
Michael Schumacher had as team mates an ailing Piquet, Brundle, an ailing Patrese, rookies Verstappen and Lehto, Herbert and Irvine (nevermind De Cesaris), and after FIVE full seasons in F1 he was considered a GOAT-type. I never heard no one complaining he was in a HAM situation or questioning his team mates ability. 10 years and 2 Brazilians after that, and that criticism never arrived. Even if it was obvious and transparent that both Ferrari, Benetton and later even Bridgestone worked primarily towards him.
Verstappen is in his TENTH F1 season. Had Sainz, Ricciardo, Gasly, Albon and Perez as team mates. I don’t understand why both Verstappen and Hamilton get this criticism that was totally unheard about Schumacher.
AndrewT (@andrewt)
7th April 2024, 13:39
I thought the same of his performance in Melbourne, choosing the right tyre to start with, willing to trade the hard tyre advantage for a cheaper pitstop and adapting the whole strategy to it, shadowing Perez to gain valuable time while consciously , and if Russell stays on track, then Alonso’s race would be a chapter now in any race driver school.
About his potential transfers, if no Red Bull seats opens up for him, I don’t see a perspective for him to move anywhere else, Mercedes might not be on the right track, Aston Martin could still be a better option for next year.
An Sionnach
7th April 2024, 15:00
It’s difficult to know for him. Alonso drove a blinder in Melbourne, making up for his mistake in qualifying. Had a bit of luck, too, but took full advantage of it. Too bad about the stewards and George’s clowning around to extract the penalty from them.
It’s the same for Sainz. With Perez doing well, that leaves only a Mercedes or possibly an Aston spot for him. If I were him I’d prefer Aston as he has time to see how it goes with the Honda engine. If Stroll would step down that would simplify things. Most of the drivers who could do with being fired are in teams that are way off the pace.
AndrewT (@andrewt)
7th April 2024, 17:57
Agreed. Stroll could make a switch to WEC with Aston Martin, one of his two teammates doing their qualy lap : ) Alonso and Sainz in green for next year? Would be quite the story.
An Sionnach
7th April 2024, 21:40
Would be good, and possibly better for Sainz than to go up against Max. Not that Max is unbeatable, just that it might help his chances of an eventual world championship if he gets into a better car.
I’d also be interested in seeing a true measure of Alonso’s performance. He hasn’t really had one in a good while, and, much as I’d like to believe his broadcasts, I suspect his magnificence isn’t quite as great as he suggests. He is providing a lot of the racing action this year, though. He’s got something in spades that I don’t see many other drivers even trying. I don’t think his skills are as useful as they should be in the age of DRS, which is a shame, as lesser drivers with little racecraft can just DRS past him. Sainz is one of the few youngsters with a racing brain. Would like to see Alonso and Sainz in a super car in future, with Max trying to drag his machinery to the best points finishes he can manage.
I don’t particularly dislike Stroll. He says very little, but he can sometimes be amusing enough. He’s had a good run and found that, while he can do reasonably well in F1, he will never be champion. If Aston did get that super car, it might have to be faster than the rest of the field than the 1988 McLaren was for Stroll and his inconsistencies to beat the relentless Verstappen.
Dave
8th April 2024, 14:55
Believe it or not, I read an article this morning claiming some in the Aston Martin camp want to let ALO go and bring in Sainz. I like Carlos but to dump ALO and keep Lance seems a “bit” foolish. Maybe Lawerance figures Lance would compete better against Carlos.
Nick T.
9th April 2024, 9:19
I’m an Alonso fan, but maybe that’s someone who is thinking he won’t drive forever and Sainz is really good, might as well grab him while we can. Don’t think it has anything to do with wanting to keep Lance. He’s just an impediment they have to work around.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
8th April 2024, 3:11
A great performance indeed by alonso, it’s not hard to believe what he said, and yes, mercedes is up there with aston, so not attractive atm, so it’s red bull or stay or retire as far as I see it, the only other real upgrade would be ferrari, where both seats are taken.
Nick T.
9th April 2024, 9:21
I wonder how much of the $500m+ they’re paying Lewis (how long is the contract?) they can actually recover through his obviously valuable marketability.