Alonso sees hard times: 'We're getting worse, they're getting better'

After Alonso finished on the podium eight times in the previous season, expectations were high for '24. For now, Aston Martin cannot match the results of a year ago. While McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes have taken a step forward, Aston Martin has remained stagnant. For an ambitious team and an equally ambitious driver, that is hard to stomach.

"So, they are getting better and we are getting worse probably," says Alonso. "The combination of the two is not great. I think, as I said many times, we have some things in the pipeline that should put us back in the right direction. It's going to be painful here. It's going to be painful in Austria. In Silverstone, we have to keep scoring points. If it's eighth, eighth, if it's seventh, ninth, whatever. But we cannot give up and stay positive in these tough times."

Alonso believes in turnaround

Alonso hopes that a turnaround can be initiated before the summer break: "I think there are a lot of understandings in the team about what went right, and what went wrong. Not only this year, I think the second part of last year and this year. So I think all the teams, we are getting more and more extreme with the development and the cars are more critical to drive. But I think now we understand a few ideas that will bring performance," Alonso said.

So all in all, the Spaniard did not get through Q2 in front of his own crowd on Saturday. Still, he says: "I think I'm happy with the result, even if it's painful to say in front of the whole grandstand. But before qualifying, our predictions were a little bit more pessimistic. Even with one car, we opted to go for three sets in Q1, which is a sign that you are not very confident. And all in all, I think starting P11 or P10 with Checo's penalty is a good result."