Jordan's stark conclusion on Alonso: 'Nowhere near the level he can be at'
F1 News
- Corwin Kunst
Fernando Alonso would have loved nothing more than to fight for the world title with Aston Martin this season. The painful truth is that the British team has simply fallen short of getting anywhere near the podium in 2024. Eddie Jordan suggests that has repercussions on the speed of the two-time world champion.
Alonso and Aston Martin surprised friend and foe last year with six podium finishes in eight races, but then things took a turn for the worse. The team lost the development race to the others and is out on its own in fifth in the constructors' championship.
Jordan also sees that Alonso may not be performing at the top of his game as he did at the start of this year, especially compared to 2023. Alonso is ninth in the world championship at the summer break, one place ahead of Lance Stroll. The veteran does have twice as many points, but his Canadian teammate is closer to him this season. The flamboyant Irishman thinks it's a "psychological" consequence of the slower AMR24.
The mental consequence for Alonso
"He happened to drive well [at Spa], and dragged more points for Aston but, at the same time, it’s nowhere near the level that he thinks he can be at," Jordan said on his Formula For Success podcast he hosts with former F1 driver David Coulthard. “Because, for him in his mind, he’s every bit as good as Lewis [Hamilton]. He expected to be able to fight with Lewis this year and to be honest, that hasn’t happened and you can’t see it happening for the remainder of this year. So I also think about, psychologically, what goes on in these guy’s heads.”
By 'these guys', the former team owner is referring to Sergio Perez. Jordan sees a parallel between Perez and Alonso, who are currently at a point in their careers where they aren't achieving the results they used to be capable of.
This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon
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18 September 2024
