Fernando Alonso has reason to be disappointed. This time there were no apparent problems to justify his result, he was left out of Q3, something we could expect given the doubts of Aston Martin, but which is not justified seeing that Lance Stroll was able to get into the top ten. The Canadian remained in that tenth place, one place above Alonso, but it shows that something is happening to Fernando, who is used to being above, far above, his team-mate.
A disappointing qualifying for Alonso
And the truth is that things started quite well for the Spaniard. His time in Q1 was stratospheric, putting him second at the start. The track was improving significantly, but he didn’t have to do another lap, it was more than enough time to make it through to Q2. He finally set the ninth fastest time in that session, with his mind on the next round.
But the disappointment came in Q2: Aston Martin decided to go for one lap, rushing the end of the session, seeing how the track was improving with every lap. The strategy had its risks, but that was what the session invited, let’s not forget that we are talking about the sprint, not the race, so it was not the time to wear out the tires. There were no incidents, Stroll went out first, followed closely by Alonso, who could have tried to take advantage of his teammate’s slipstream, but he didn’t.
The lap seemed good, but at the finish line he was overtaken by Stroll. He set the eighth fastest time, but Tsunoda, Antonelli and Russell pushed him down to eleventh place, a disappointing eleventh place, which shows that something is happening to Fernando Alonso, who is used to finishing at least above his team-mate.
Concern for Alonso
If in the Australian GP he made two mistakes that doomed him, one in qualifying and one in the race, this time nothing seems to have happened to justify his poor qualifying. We insist, it’s only the sprint qualifying, there’s the whole weekend ahead, tomorrow with the “mini race” and then the qualifying for Sunday’s race, that’s where we‘ll see what the Asturian driver is really capable of.
This is not the time to draw conclusions or to doubt him. It is true that the first results of the season are not what was expected, but the second race of the year is not over yet and it would be suicidal to doubt the quality of the Spaniard. It is clear that it is not the expected start, but it is time to trust Fernando Alonso for this weekend.
Alonso satisfied despite the result
However, Fernando Alonso played down the importance of qualifying and was satisfied with the performance of the AMR25. “A great day, the circuit is incredible in Shanghai and we’re going faster with the new asphalt. I felt very good in Q1, great, I was second. I wish we would do single lap qualifying again because it would benefit us. And in Q2 we were on the verge of making it through to Q3. It’s a good Friday overall and gives us hope for the race on Sunday.
“It went well, especially in Q1 we were second with the first lap. Unfortunately the qualifying sessions are very long now, there are many attempts. It would be good to go back to having only one attempt. The car was competitive, fast, at the limit to get through to Q3 and with the other car inside. The car gave us confidence from the first lap in the morning, we’re still a couple of tenths off and it’s very tight in the middle, but I’m happy. The sprint is not our priority, qualifying and the main race are.
Aston Martin in the fight
The good news for Aston Martin is that they seem to be in the fight. The beneficiary is Lance Stroll, a driver who receives a lot of criticism, sometimes deserved, for who he is and for the poor results in recent years compared to his teammate, Alonso. But his start to the year is encouraging for him and for the team. If the AMR25 is capable of being in the upper part of the middle zone, his points could be decisive for Aston Martin to climb in the classification. The team missed his points last season, and seeing him now above the Spaniard is good news, as he is expected to maintain the level, just as Fernando Alonso is expected to be able, once again, to be above him.
We now have to wait and see what happens in tomorrow’s sprint race, in the qualifying for the race and in the race itself on Sunday. It is too early to pass judgment, but the initial conclusions with Fernando Alonso are not good, something is happening to him.