Fernando Alonso suffered his second retirement of the season in the Chinese Grand Prix of Formula 1 after a problem with the brakes of the car. Although it did not influence the race, the Asturian driver acknowledged that he is also suffering from other types of problems that are holding him back.
Fernando Alonso and his bad run
Not the best start for Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso had hoped for in these first races of the F1 World Championship. More than a week ago, Alonso started the World Championship hoping to confirm the improvements to his AMR25 compared to last year, when the car finished the season as one of the worst. However, misfortune has once again been on his side, either due to his own problems or problems with the car.
The Australian GP Fernando Alonso made two major mistakes, one in qualifying and one in the race, which prevented him from finishing the race. Now in China, a problem with the brakes from the start caused him to retire, but it could have been worse and much more dangerous if the mistake had not occurred in the first few meters.
It is not usual for Fernando Alonso to accumulate such a run of bad luck. In fact, it had been seven years since the Asturian driver had to retire in his first two races. The same thing happened to him in 2017, with McLaren, and also in the two scenarios now, Australia and China. That year turned out to be one of the worst for Alonso since he became an F1 driver.
Muscle problems
As if this were not enough, Fernando Alonso acknowledged after the race that he was suffering from muscle problems in his neck, as could be seen with the bands that were visible during the interview time. There was no time for these to affect his performance in the race due to the few turns he made, but they were affecting his performance.
“We had a bit of protection on the neck. It had been pinched for a few days, from a nerve or something. In the end it didn’t help much because we didn’t do too many laps”.
The Spaniard has suffered from the tough start to the season, but now they have two weeks to take a break and recover their energy. This season the world championship is more compact than ever, with 24 races, making it the longest championship in the history of F1. Thousands of kilometers and time changes that will test the stamina, not only of Alonso, but of the whole grid.
“It’s going to be tough. A week at home with jet lag now and then going to Japan and having a bit more of the same. But we’re used to it. We’ll try to train a bit and improve what we can,” said a resigned Alonso.
Aston Martin has to improve
It seemed that Aston Martin had taken a step forward, and it has, but the rest of the teams have also stepped up their game. The midfield is more evenly matched than ever and the English team needs to bring out the best in itself in order to be able to fight for points. In Australia, thanks to the rain strategy, Stroll scored important points, but in China, with normal dry conditions, and despite the disqualification of the two Ferraris and Gasly, Aston Martin could not finish in the top ten. It is clear that the team needs the best Alonso to be able to score points during the season, but it is also true that they must continue working on the AMR25 if they want to be able to fight for the middle zone.
Now there are two weeks off until the next GP, which will be in Japan, and it is to be hoped that Aston Martin will restore the reliability of the car and that Fernando Alonso will overcome his physical problems and be in the fight to score the first points of the season for his personal record and help Aston Martin to continue progressing.